Camilla pulled herself up, hand over hand towards the window. Her shoulders, already abused, howled in protest with each tile she pulled herself up. Despite the pain it was easy to keep focus, given the alternative was to fall forty feet onto hard cobblestones and into the middle of a pack of frothing beastmen besides. The slate was hard against her fingers and hot besides from the sun but she made steady progress, one of the smaller beastmen attempted to duplicate her leap but missed the flag and plunged flailing into the courtyard, a graphic demonstartion of the risk she had run. Thank Ranald that the beasts had few missile weapons she thought. Suddenly she was uncomfortably aware of the great cannon they had out there and how easily it might convert a roof and a courtesan into so much flying debris. The appropriated rifle banged painfully against her hip with each heave and she cursed herself for bothering with the cursed thing, but it was to late to discard it now. With a final stretch she caught the lip of the window and wriggled through the slender opening, collapsing and gasping for air.

With astonishing suddeness something launched itself from the parapet and slammed into the tiled roof with the strength of a cannonball. Slate tiles flew everywhere and for a second she thought it was a cannonball, or some other siege weapon. Then the thing uncoiled and her blood turned to ice as she recognized the armored form of a Chaos Warrior. Not just any Chaos Warrior either but the oddly scented man who had tried to grab her the night of the ambush. The man reached out a hand and plunged it through the slate, dragging himself up the roof, far faster than she had, in a rain of shattered tiles. Eerie laughterd bubbled from his lips both hungry and somehow depraved. For a second she just stared in horror. If her pistol were with her, or the rifle were loaded she might have tried to make a fight of it, but the pistol was down in the cellar and he would be on her long before she could reload the unfamiliar long arm.

As the warrior climbed he lashed out with the purplish tentacle that sprouted from the ruin of his right hand. Camilla felt the slimy appendage wrap around her waist even as her rapier cleared its scabbard. The strange warrior howled in triumph and yanked on the tentacle intending to yank her out onto the roof. She had been waiting for it. As he pulled she swept her rapier down hard severing the tentacle neatly with the razored blade. Without her weight the warrior over balanced and slid down the roof only managing to stop himself a few feet from the lip. Seizing her advantage Camilla turned and fled, dropping down the ladder and into one of the service corridors of the hall. A moment later she heard the crashing of timbers as the warrior came through the window more directly than she had.

[b]"Woman! You will be mine err the sun sets!"[/b] he roared.

[b]"I doubt you can afford it!"[/b] Camilla shouted back and took of a run down the hallway towards the tumult in the main hall.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Velabrass was savoring the sweet taste of victory. He could feel the fear of the defenders, penned like cattle in the hall. That fool Guildenhoof would soon have the vial. Tzeentch would reward his faithful servant well for his work this day. But Tzeentch was a fickle deity and no sooner had he formed the thought than a vast red shadow burst from the southern edge of the valley. He had but a moment to recognize the massive winged form as the herald of death it was. A great red firedrake of the kind that was seldom seen this age. The beast reared back and belched a torrent of flame, almost blue with heat into the trees and even over the howling rush of air to feed the flames the screams of beastmen could be heard. 

The hellcannon was there. The beast would destroy it for certain. So many sacrificed souls sacrificed to the Dark Dwai lost. It was a test sent by Tzeentch he decided. All that mattered was taking the vial and the sword from this place. He could rebuild anything once he had those twin boons to boast of. Snarling a curse he had learned from the twisting Aurora he strode through the assembled beastmen, decapitating one in sheer frustration. It was time to end this.

[@POOHEAD189]