[IC] Blood, Steel, and Gunpowder (Austronaut & POOHEAD189)

[POOHEAD189]

"Dinner sounds nice," was all the Sergeant could add without going off into some popinjay behavior like you'd fine in Detlef Sierck melodrama. He could thank a few of the men from his late company for him even knowing of that name. He wasn't often rough around more cultured folk, but the best he could often do was blunt statements. Cerdic had to admit he was more than curious about what this woman wanted, and what she intended to do about it.

Still, he was almost relieved when Commander Gilbrecth called for him to follow him onto the battlements. He gave a salute, resolved once more entering his eyes, making them look as true of steel as his broadsword. "Sir." was all he replied with, and followed the Commander out of the Great Hall and onto the walls.

He had not realized just how late it had gotten when they made it to the courtyard, the two men making their way up the inner stairwell past a murder hole, to stand atop the stout stone of the keep. Lord Egling let out a breath, and stood before the parapets, gazing into the Knight. Men-At-Arms routinely passed them by as they stood together. "I'll be blunt." Egling said. "It seems much too convenient that someone like you would be unharmed fighting a horde of beastman. It seems unlikely for any two people to survive out there alone from the Beastman activity of late. I want you to tell me exactly what you had been doing out there, and I want to know now. Or you'll burn tomorrow evening as a traitor."

"I am Reiner Cerdic Becker. Sergeant-At-Arms for a contingent of troops led by Captain Hollerman, set out from Morlenfurt. We were near 100 strong, and were guarding a caravan of wagons that contained various supplies bound for Nuln. Not 2 days ago we set foot on solid ground after traveling the River Tuefel, and not an hour before you saved us, my men were slaughtered by Beastman. But not only that. They were being lead by Champions of Chaos."

The sharp, barking laugh showed just what Gilbrecht thought of his story. "You expect me to believe that?" the Commander asked incredulously, then bit back his words and considered something. Cerdic continued. "This far south, I know it is hard to believe. But I saw it with my own eyes, Commander. My men were slaughtered, and I barely managed to make it out alive with Fraueline Hilde..."

---

With eyes that betrayed the vast intelligence that lurked beneath its monstrous head, Reigynferlgar the Crimson gazed upon the ground far below her, letting out a powerful beat of its wings. Steam and the decaying stench of rotting corpses cascaded out of its great maw as it searched the Reikwald for the ones responsible for her inner torment.

Below the trees covered a vast land, and in the distance she could see various lights dotting the landscape. Within the clouds, destinations that would take days to journey toward could be seen by the naked eye in an instant, with but a turn of the head. She knew she was within the heart of the Empire, but her reserve had fled long ago. Her children had been stolen, and she would rip apart all of Reikland to find who was responsible, and swallow them whole.
@Austronaut

[Austronaut]

“Yes, the good frauline,” Gilbrecht said, turning to gaze out over the mist shrouded Riekwald. He drummed his fingers on the parapet. His expression changed subtly as he watched the distant treelined hills.

“An interesting woman, I might be willing to believe that you were a survivor, but her?” Gilbrecht turned a suspicious gaze on Cedric.

“Am I to find that she is miraculously acquainted with our guest?” Gilbrecht’s anger contorted his face.

“I swear by Sigmar, if this is some sort of trickI will burn the three of you and damn the consequences.”

--------------------------------------------

Hilde dealt with the tending of the fat kitchen woman as long as she could. She ate a simple meal of cheese and dried fruit which was filling but unsatisfying. Requests for ale or wine were met with prim sniffs and obvious disapproval. Fresh clothing and several buckets of hot water were produced by sullen male servants. Elizabet insisted that she would help bathe the girl. Hilde refused absolutely and eventually prevailed by sheer stubbornness and washed alone. She scrubbed herself with harsh lye soap until her skin burned and sluiced the gore and mud away with the remaining water.

She was in the process of pulling on a cotton shirt, cut for a man and much too long, when the door banged open. Two men burst into the small room one of them brandishing a heavy cudgel. The club wielding man was unfamiliar but the other was the slender secretary she had seen in the courtyard. She screamed and scampered back into the small room eyes wide.

“Silence wench,” snarled the secretary. Hilde scrambled back and seized a heavy fireplace poker from a cold hearth, brandishing before her like sword, her other hand holding the shirt down to cover her near nakedness.

“The soldier who came with you,” demanded the scribe, “What is his name?”

Hilde’s eyes darted around the chamber seeking escape and finding none. She altered her grip on the poker.

“Get out!” she commanded in a trembling voice. The scribe sighed theatrically.

“Take her Gunter,” he commanded the cudgel wielding soldier. The man reached forward with a hand to grab the girl. Hilde twisted sideways and swung the heavy iron downwards with all her might. The fire poker gave a satisfying crack as it smacked into the man, Gunter’s, forearm. The soldier howled and staggered back screaming. Hilde darted towards the door where the scribe was still standing. It was doubtful he intended to stop her but he was in the way and blocking her escape. She drove a knee into the thin mans crotch, doubling him over with a scream of pain. In the same instant she bought her elbow down onto his kidney and then drove her knee into his face with a satisfying spray of blood. The scribe dropped to the floor mewling.

Gunter recovered himself and lunged across the room taking Hilde in a flying tackle. She kicked at his wounded arm and, still slippery with soap, slid from his grip. With a quick lunge she reached her pistols and snatched one up, pulling the hammer back with an audible click. Gunter froze, a look of shock on his bearded face.

“Throw me the trousers,” she said in a quavering tone, “or by Shallya I will wash the wall with your brains.”

“Ok ok,” the soldier rasped, picking up the trousers that had been laid out beside the shirt. He tossed it to Hilde who stepped aside rather than let the bundle obstruct her shot. The scribe moaned and vomited in the door way. Without breaking eye contact with Gunter she reached down and collected the trousers. Then stepped over the scribe and into the hallway.

“I … assure you this is a misunderstanding,” gasped the scribe breathlessly. Hilde kicked him in the stomach hard enough to hurt her bare foot and turning the man over to clear the doorway. With a quick motion she pulled the heavy oaken door shut and then realized there was no way to lock it. With a curse she turned and ran down the hall, barefoot and dripping.

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

"I'm not entirely sure why you suspect me or the frauline of treachery, Commander. I'm a Sigmar fearing man, and a soldier of Reikland same as you. I'm merely here by the hammer's good grace, and your timely intervention." Cerdic grit his teeth within his enclosed mouth, but showed no anger or hostility other than that. He gave the Commander a salute. "Sir, by your leave."

Gilbrect gave Cerdic a baelful gaze for a moment, then nodded brusquely. "Go and see the Witch if you wish. But my men will be at the door if you see fit to... dine with her" he said. Cerdic gave another salute, and then made his way off the wall and past the courtyard. He could feel the Lord Egling's gaze upon his back.

Cerdic let out a haggard breath, and wondered how things could have gotten so fucked up within one day of this world. His friends dead, a Chaos incursion in the Reikwald, Templar's threatening him. He made his way down hall after hall, feeling as lost mentally as he appeared to be physically. What next? His question was answered when a half naked and soaked Hilde hit him as he turned the next corner. He grunted, the powerful but lean man not staggering from her light weight, but surprised by the force nonetheless. "W-what?"

---

Eyes with unnatural sight had viewed the exchange from atop the walls. The man had been there. Crovendif chuckled with barely surpressed glee. It was true, the Castle itself proved an obstacle, but he merely would need to send a Gor to relay the message to Balgar. They would be able to navigate the hell cannon there by late morning. Behind him, his followers seethed and groaned, and he halted them with a whisper. "Soon, my lovelies."
@Austronaut

[Austronaut]

Hilde crashed into a man as she rounded the corner. He was built like a tree trunk and she staggered back, raising her pistol instinctively. In her panic she nearly didn’t recognise Cedric. At the last second she jerked the weapon down and let out a ragged breath.

“Cedric,” she gasped, with evident relief.

Lowering the weapon she quickly pulled the trousers she had been carrying in her offhand up over her legs and then tied them awkwardly with her belt. She cast a worried glance over her shoulder, though there was no sign of pursuit.

“That scribe and one of the nights burst into my room while I was bathing and tried to grab me,” she said by way of explanation. The sight of Cedric’s face jogged her out of the shocked state she had been in.

“They wanted to know what your name was.” She didn’t give any particular emotional loading to the words. It was hardly uncommon for mercenaries to use false names for a variety of very good reasons.

“What is going on here?” she asked, glancing back down the hallway.


Isolde stared defiantly up at Gilbrecht. The knight’s aristocratic face wa set in a expression of cold fury. They were in her… room was to strong a word, cell in one of the western towers.

“You will dine with him,” Gilbrecht instructed, pacing back and forth as he spoke.

“I warn you witch, you may think you are too important for us to kill but I would rather you die than our work be imperilled. There are other wizards we could find,” Gilbrecht declared angrily.

“I think this is a desperate trick and that this fool is bewitched by a pretty face,” Gilbrecht expounded. He thought of Hilde and wondered if he too had been bewitched. Perhaps it would have been better just to let the pair die in the forest rather than risk the great work they were about. At the time he had felt Sigmar would not look kindly on abandoning his people to the beasts. He turned and glowered at Isolde.

“And remember, there are Templars here who have hunted the Empire for the likes of you. They can make your dying take days.”

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

Cerdic did his best not to look at the woman in any suggestive way. It wasn't extremely hard at the moment. Not that she wasn't attractive, but contrary to popular belief, a good fight didn't get men in the mood. Quite the opposite. After killing and watching others die, you were intensely aware that everyone was just another pile of flesh. He was glad those feelings went away however. He'd have no fun in taverns otherwise.

He grabbed Hilde by the upper arm and guided her as gently as he could (which was still a bit rough) to the closest door, opening it ever so slightly to see that it was nothing but a broom closet. "Thank Sigmar," he breathed, then pulled her in and closed the door behind them. He pressed his back against the door, then let out a sigh. "I don't know what is going on." he admitted. "But there is something here that doesn't meet the eye."

He clenched his callused fists, then ran both of his hands through his thick brown hair as he considered what was next. "I met a woman. A sorceress I think. She's acting as if she knows me. I think she is here against her will to carry out Gilbrecht's orders for something. I don't know, but I'm going to find out. As of now, my first name is Reiner, and Cerdic is my middle name that I use in common conversation."

He stepped forward, and put his hands on her slender shoulders. "Listen, Commander Egling is suspicious of me, and you as well. But when it comes to you, I think he doesn't wish to be suspicious. I think he wants you to be found unguilty of heresy for...intimate reasons, my guess is. Play along for now. It would be in our best interests for you to act the part of the damsel, so we can survive another night here. I'll meet you on the morrow and tell you what I've found out from the Sorceress Isolde."

He looked at the door, and nearly left then and there, but continued. When he spoke his next words, he was referring to Isolde. He like most other Sigmarites were untrusting of mages. But he had little choice. "I'm not used to trusting someone I just met... but you're a hell of a fighter and I know a heretic when I see one. The Beastman tried to kill you just as they tried to kill me. As for the powder that goes to Nuln, we'll worry on that later. Good luck..."

He gave her another look, then opened the door and peered out, before slipping away into the hall.
@Austronaut

[Austronaut]

Hilde frowned at Cedric's departing back trying to take in all the information she had just been given. Why would the knights be suspicious of two escaped soldiers? Paranoia was not an uncommon trait amongst Sigmarites.

Well she had next to no chance of making it through the woods without Cedric's help. That meant she needed to remain in Sir Gilbrechts good graces. Well, if Cedric was right, she might be able to manage.

Improvisation was the key. She untucked her shirt an tied the tails together. The resulting effect pulled the shirt tighter across her chest and left her midriff exposed. T outfit made her look like a Araby corsair or a Tiliean sell sword. She hung her weapons belt high on one hip so it slanted diagonally down to her scabbard. She needed to walk with her hip cocked slightly to stop the whole thing falling to the ground but it seemed worth the price there was nothing she could do for barefeet or disheveled hair, speed would be more important now at any rate. Squaring her shoulders she went looking for sir Gilbrecht.

The Knight was coming into the great hall when Hilde found him. It was easy to let her face form an expression of affronted rage. That was how she really felt after all.

"You!" She blazed, subtly posing as she did so.

"Two. Of your men assaulted me whilst I was bathing. Have knights really sunk to such depths in the Empire?"

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

The stately Knight stopped in his tracks when he was confronted by the fiery but alluring form of Hilde. He seemed to stumble over his next words as she demanded to know the manner of he and his men. "Frauline..." he said, holding his hands out wide in a disarming fashion. "Did they hurt you? I simply wanted them to find out if you had prior knowledge of the witch that resides here under my supervision."

He drew himself a bit more, though he was still subtly effected by her manner and style. The man would have fooled many and seemed in charge by every respect. But he clearly hadn't meant to bump into her at such a place and in such a state. His mind was also fairly preoccupied with Cerdic's conversation, as well as the project they were currently enacting. Sigmar preserve me, do things get complicated.

"That and, I was to inquire upon the nature of your relationship with Sergeant Reiner." he continued, using simply the name Isolde had given him as a test. "These are suspicious times, my lady. You cannot blame me for questioning how you and he could survive in a forest crawling with Chaos spawn."

---

Cerdic felt intensely tired, both physically and mentally. But he wouldn't be an effective soldier if he hadn't learned to suppress such weary feelings long ago. It seems he had a date with a certain woman whom he was apparently fast friends with. He stalked the halls in his haggard, albeit semi-washed state, before a soldier found him and escorted him to where the woman Isolde was now presiding.

She sat at a dinner table in her small, spartan chambers. He stepped into the room, the torchlight dancing off his rugged skin. Cerdic glanced back at the soldier that had led him in, indicating that he could leave now or get a rough punch for his nosiness. The man glared, but simply turned and departed out of the room. The fresh smell of cooked pork reached Cerdic's nostrils, and he turned to Isolde. "We meet again." he said dryly.
@Austronaut

[Austronaut]

Hilde covered her mouth and coughed politely.

"Um... I'm afraid that I didn't react well when they burst in. I don't think they will be permanently damaged, a few bruises and perhaps a broken arm."

Her voice was contrite for truthfully she had reacted in a panic at being surprised half naked. If Gilbecht was shocked he didn't show it.

"Ah, well, then discourtesy is its own punishment. Nevertheless, I apologise."

Hilde nodded to give herself time to think. The problem with lies was that it was easy to get tangled up.

"I have no relationship with Sargent Reiner or Cedric as the men usually called him. We exchanged a few words at briefings and such but we scouts kept pretty separate."

It seemed to Hilde that Gilbrecht relaxed a little at that. The man seemed to swing between moods with unreasonable speed. Hilde had experience tending the mad and the knight didn't seem insane, but he was strung extremely tight for reasons she couldn't fathom.

"As to a witch, I hope I haven't any association with such a person."

"Lord Egling, I don't know what we have done that has made you suspicious, I am just a soldier," Hilde explained forcing herself to smile. Gilbrecht smiled slightly more genuinely.

"I don't think women are permitted to be soldiers in the Imperial Army," he commented midly. Hilde bristled inspite of her intention to remain friendly.

"That is true, we can only sign on for contracts, as mercenaries," she explained, it had been hard to find a commander who would take her even so, at least one who didn't expect a non military services in return. The thought of a half dozen such lewd proportions made her ears burn. Shallya only knew where she would find another such commander.

"Why would a beautiful young woman want to be a soldier? It's a dirty blood business, not a place for a woman," Gilbrecht continued. Hilde's temper rose both at the suggestion that she couldn't take the pressure and the clumsy gallantly both. It wasn't any of his business, it wasn't any of anyone's business.

-------------

Isolde smiled warmly at Cedric. True to Gilbrecht's word the soldiers stayed at the open door. She was dressed in a simple white dress but had braided her hair in intricate tresses. The sorceress had eschewed all jewelry to draw Cedric’s attention to the brass bracelet fastened around her wrist. She had taken what care she could to prepare the room. All she had to offer was the same roast pork and boiled vegetables that the garrison had, but she had found plates and cups for the wine. The soldiers had taken care to make sure she had no way to pass a message.

"I can't believe you are here," she enthused.

"What have you been doing since we last saw each other?"

[POOHEAD189]

Cerdic gave her a smile and a bow. "Please, sit." he bade her, and eyed the bracelet on her wrist, meeting her eyes next. He let out a breath and sat down across from her, lifting his leg up on the opposite knee and leaning forward. "It warms my heart to see you." he said. "But it's small comfort these days. I've been soldiering for the past few years. Not a day ago, my contingent of troops were killed by Chaos warriors and foul beastman. I barely managed to survive." he said, and he didn't need to act out the tiredness in his eyes.

He began eating some of the pork, enjoying his second meal almost more than the first, for he could take his time to taste it now. He wasn't merely eating for survival, though he had to admit he was still very hungry. He supped some of the wine, and it tasted like heaven. If this was under different circumstances, he'd felt like this night was a good one. A pretty woman, good food, good wine, and a castle to enjoy it in. "How have you been?" he asked. "What brings you here?"
@Austronaut

[Austronaut]

As Isolde had hoped the guards stiffened at the question of her reasons for being in the keep. She kept silent for a few moment to make the reaction obvious.

“I am a guest of Sir Gilbrecht’s, as you yourself know it is dangerous to travel without an escort. There are some minor works to be done for the castle of course, basic wards and what not,” she gestured enthusiastically with her fork.

“I had been in Altdorf when I met him, quite sudden and unexpected it as too…” she prattled on for a while making her conversation as generic and uninteresting as she could. The guards, though determined paid less attention as the meal went on. Under the table Isolde ran a barefoot up Cedirc’s leg, making sure she had his full and undivided attention. She smiled a coy smile and lifted her brass cup to her lips. She exhaled on the cup, misted like a mirror in a hot bathouse save for where in large letters she had written with her fingers:

PRISONER. HELP.

The words faded as quickly as she had written them. Belatedly it occurred to her to worry if the sergeant could read. Her fine plan would be for nought if he couldn’t

--------------------------------------------------

Hilde was still chattering with Sir Gilbrecht. She had maneuvered the convesation to friendlier ground, even laughing at a few of the commanders awkward jokes, when the scribe and the wounded soldier arrived. Gunter’s arm was definitely broken, it hung limply and the man was in obvious pain. The scribe’s nose was bloody and swollen.

“My lord,” snapped the scribe, “this heretic has assaulted us!”

Gilbrecht gave a stony look. He had told them to get the information out of her so he bore some responsibility.

“I didn’t tell you to burst in on the lady while she was bathing,” he chided gently. The scribe’s face darkened and he glanced suspiciously between Hilde and Gilbrecht.

“We will discuss the matter later, for now please take Gunter to the infirmary, his arm needs tending.”

Gilbrecht turned and smiled at Hilde, his aristocratic confidence back. He took her arm gently and led her up into the castle. It was still far from luxurious but it was certainly better appointed than the lower levels.

“Perhaps you will do me the honor of being my guest for dinner?” it was phrased as a question but Hilde knew an order when she heard one.

[POOHEAD189]

Cerdic chewed his food and raised his brow as he listened to her, doing his best to appear as if he was interested. His interest wasn't entirely faux, for this enchanting woman seemed to be a born actor and he enjoyed watching her pull the wool over the men like they were idiots. Granted, they just might be idiots anyway.

Her foot sliding up his leg brought a raised eyebrow and a parting of his lips, unsure of how to react until she showed him the message. He was a tad more educated than the average soldier, so he could read that just fine. He didn't have the right words in his head to send a message back in that fashion however. He'd only been the Quartermaster's apprentice for a short while after all. He gave her a wink and a nod.

He realized as he tried to figure out another message to send that he was already getting quite tired of the lies and intrigue here. He was no fool, and he'd often been mistaken as such by high class louts. But the past 5 years, the biggest deceptions he had to pull off was feinting with his sword, or creating an ambush at the tree line to bring bandits and Beastman to justice. He was out of his element here.

"I have to say I've missed your voice." he said. "I know you're being treated well, but you're also far from home. Rest easy knowing you have me as a friend." His raised his brows to put emphasis on the word 'friend'. "Perhaps you'll meet an acquaintance of mine here as well. She's a younger pistolier named Hilde. I haven't known her long, but I trust her. I'm sure you'll become fast friends."

---

Belgar placed his armored hand atop the sorcerous war machine. This hellcannon had been forged deep within the Chaos wastes and traveled countless miles to extend the interests of the Changer of Ways. It was so warm he could feel the heat of it from within his gauntlet, as if it was a living being. Perhaps the heat was generated by the Demon that had inhabited the very metal itself.

"You'll not live past tomorrow." the bloodied ranger spat, his body hanging from arms already broken like twigs. Beastman held him up, their spittle sliding down their great maws and their hunger evident. Suddenly, the Tzeentch Chosen saw a flash at the very edge of his vision. The man and woman from earlier...a sense of foreboding followed.

Belgar turned to look at the dying man, his eyes glowed red like hell fire. "You, huntsman, will power this great machine with your blood." the champion promised. "How does it feel to give your soul to the Gods of Chaos?" The man could not answer, for his throat was slit with a jagged knife, and only blood and froth could leave his lips as he fell into darkness.
@Austronaut

[Austronaut]

Isolde could have wept with relief. She had been desperate when she reached out to the hardbitten soldier. That he had been willing to play along had been a stroke of fortune almost beyond belief. She reached across and clasped his hand fervently.

“A female pistolier?” Isolde asked in genuine surprise. What strange coincidence had led the soldier and his friend here?

“Is she special to you?” the question was framed to sound slightly jealous for the benefit of the guards but she was genuinely curious. It sounded like something out of a melodrama.

------------------------

Hilde came to the end of the account of her first meeting with Captain Hollerman. Gilbrecht laughed at the slightly off colour punchline of the tale as he poured the both of the more wine. The pitcher was nearly empty already. It was just possible that he was trying to get her drunk to get information out of her but she had so far been able to hold her tongue. It didn’t seem like that was the gold though. Sir Gilbrecht seemed to have alot on his mind, he was eager to be distracted from whatever worries weighed on his mind.

“I must confess you are a delightful companion frau.. Hilde,” he commented, remembering at the last to drop the title as they had agreed earlier in the evening. Hilde smiled and took another bite of the excellent pork. Rather than picking at her food she ate with a real gusto which seemed to perplex the knight. Hilde had learned early on in her career that food and particularly meat were luxuries to be consumed where possible. She correspondingly ate with more enthusiasm than might be expected in polite company.

Gilbrecht reached across the table and stroked her face with one hand, his calloused fingertips rough against her smooth skin. She came to her feet abruptly and her head swam with a wave of nausea. Apparently she had drank quite a bit more than she had planned. She swooned and was saved by collapse by Gilbrecht’s arms.

“Sorry…” she murmured, “I think I need to get to bed.”

Gilbrecht smiled down at her.

“Of course, I’ll escort you there at once.”

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

Cerdic was taken aback a bit from the question. He was sure she was only curious because the guards were listening, but she certainly was beautiful. "Uh, no." he said without even thinking. I'm sure it's just an act. "I've only just met her the other day. She was the only survivor from that terrible tragedy in the woods, other than myself."

He let out a sigh, and his next words sounded as tired as he felt. "It was...an ordeal. An understatement, but one I will use. I'm very glad to be here with you again. I need more friends, truth be told. I'm glad you feel the same." He took another sip of wine, and let out a soft burp from beneath his hand. It wouldn't do to let a large one loose before such a woman. Sigmar, she might be my only friend other than Hilde but she's still a mage.

[Austronaut]

Hilde’s head was swimming as Gilbrecht half helped, half carried her up the castle’s twisting stairway. Dimly she was aware that the knight was talking to her, asking her questions. There was something she wasn’t supposed to talk about but she couldn’t remember what it was. He asked about Cedric and some woman who Cedric knew, or was supposed to know? By the time they reached the oaken door of the chamber the questions had stopped.

The knight took her into the room and laid her down on the bed. The drugs he had put into the wine had done their work. She claimed she didn’t know that Cedric used the name Reiner, she thought he had told her his name was Reiner but couldn’t remember when. Perhaps it would have been better to have had the questioners put the fire to Cedric and make him talk but they needed Isolde to perform her ritual. Sigmar’s work could not be delayed because a sorceress decided that she should throw herself from a tower because a former lover had been tortured to death.

Gilbrecht was an honorable man, he would never dream of taking advantage of a woman in Hilde’s condition. There was an obscure sense of guilt at having drugged her for information. He did permit himself an appreciative glance at her somnolent form. His eyes tracked down to where her belt had dragged her trousers down slightly over the curve of her hip. He was just about to turn away when he noticed something there. Something in his training jolted in the back of his mind, overpowering his chivalrous inclination to turn away. With a sense of dread growing in his heart he moved over to her and began to slowly pull the fabric away. His eyes bulged in horror at what he saw.

Hilde came awake with a start. Her mind was still fogged with the drugs but there was a new clarity somehow. Gilbrecht was standing over her, he had dragged her trouser down over her hip. His eyes were wide and he was ashen pale. Rage and fear flooded her. The adrenaline pouring into her system purged the drugs faster than any alchemist could have done. Gilbrecht opened his mouth to shout. She surged to her feet driving her shoulder into the knights stomach. He reeled back, snatching for a sword that wasn’t there. She hit him as hard as she could with a balled fist, driving it deep into her stomach. He fell backwards tumbling over and she followed him down landing on his stomach. Gilbrecht was a trained soldier and he outweighed her by a hundred pounds. Even unable to should he kneed her in the chest sending her sprawling back to the bed. He tried to yell to sound the alarm but his breath wheezed in his throat from her attack. With a choking gasp he darted across the room and leaped atop her, powerful hands closing around her throat.

Hilde thrashed beneath the knight, her vision pulsing red in time with her heartbeat. Her hands scrabbled futilely at his, but it was like trying to dislodge tree trunks. The world started to fade around her. She spasmed beneath the knight, her hand fell to her waist, brushing a hard object. With her last energy she drew her pistol from her waistband, pressed it into GIlbrecht’s stomach and pulled the trigger. The last thing she saw as the world crashed towards blackness was a flash of light and the smell of burning powder.

[POOHEAD189]

"I wish there was some way we could be alone..." Cerdic said, almost unable to look away from the woman's dark eyes once they settled upon his own. She nodded, never taking her eyes off his own. "If only..." she breathed. Her desperation for escape sounded very much like her wanting to get more intimate with Cerdic, and he was confused with which she meant at this particular moment.

As if they were in a play, he drew his hand back. "Alas, excuse me a moment." The Sergeant drew himself to his full height, standing up from the table. "Duty calls." He strode over to the Men-At-Arms standing watch. The man regarded him as Cerdic approached. "My good man, would you know where the privy is?" The soldier looked at him incredulously, then shrugged and opened his mouth to answer.

Cerdic punched him in the throat, and tore the man's helmet off him, before bashing the man's helmet against his head. It knocked him out cold. "Bastard!" Cerdic heard from the side, but the Sergeant was already in motion, and he kicked the flat of the guard's blade even as he began to draw it, knocking him to the wall and hitting him as well with the helmet he had stolen, before flinging the man to the ground.

"Sigmar..." Cerdic breathed, then went over to pick up his broadsword he had unfastened from his belt by order of his 'hosts.' He grabbed the key to Isolde's bindings from the downed soldier. Behind him, he heard a relieved sigh and silky words. "I'm quite impressed, though I didn't think you would be so blunt in your attack. Thank you, though. Honestly I-"

He turned, and almost casually his swordblade rested against the flesh of her neck. Her words were cut off and her face a mask of confusion. "First of all, I meant it when I said I was your friend. But know this...know that my trust now is not something I take lightly. If I regret our 'friendship' later down the line, then you shall as well." The promise of his words were evident in his eyes. A moment later, he softened and drew the sword away from her, tossing her the key to her binding. "That being said, what in Sigmar's name is going on here?"

It was at that moment they heard the faint crack of a pistol.
@Austronaut

[Austronaut]

Isolde threw her arms around Cedric's neck and kissed him full on the lips.

"Thank you," she breathed. She thrust the small brass key into the eye of the bracelet and turned it. The arcane shackle. The heavy copper link fell to the floor with an unmusical clank. The Golden Wind roared back into her and she might have wept in relief.

Cedric's rash action had taken her by surprise but Isolde reacted quickly. She snatched up her few possessions.

"I will tell you everything but we have to leave. Right now. I am a sigmar fearing woman but if they catch us they will burn both of us alive."

------------
Balgar regarded the torchlit castle impassively. It was time. He stroked the heavy metal of the hell cannon, feeling the rage of the trapped demob inside. The sigmarites were alert abs wouldn't be taken by surprise.

"Kill them all," he roared. The hellcannon belched fire and smoke in an unimaginable blast,sending a projectile screaming into the sky like a damned soul

@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

He was too surprised to respond to the kiss the way he would have wanted, but he was glad for that at the present. This wasn't a place to linger for any reason. That, and he could almost feel a subtle aura about her once the shackle had been released. It was unnerving.

"Right, let's go. But I'm not leaving without Hilde." he told her, and poked his head out into the hallway. "She's in possession of something that needs to make it to Nuln." He turned back to Isolde. "That's where we're headed."

Suddenly he felt the Castle rock slightly, and a rumbling noise of something heavy impacting the walls further within the structure. He blinked, confused for a moment. There was something off about the low rumbling. He could have sworn he heard screams within the back of his mind. "Dammit." he said. He'd heard such an engine before. "The Castle is under siege, and if I had to guess, it's from the Chaos forces we were running from."

He grabbed her arm and ran out into the hallway, the slight woman being easily lead by the strong Sergeant. He wasn't heading for the exit though. He was making his way to where he heard the crack of a pistol. It had been before the siege engine had gone off. It might have been Hilde.

Cerdic lead Isolde down the hallways, past guardsmen that were running towards the battlements in a disorganized fashion, before finding an unconscious Hilde below a dead Gilbrecth.
"What?" Cerdic breathed. He pushed the Templar off of her and patted her face none-too-gently. "Hilde! WAKE UP!"

---

In the black of night, within the towering trees of the Reikwald, the Hell cannon fired a second time. Its unnatural and foul noise and hellfire were plain for anyone to see if they were within a mile of it on the ground. Or many miles in the air. Little did the defenders who hustled up to the battlements, or the Chaos besiegers know, that they had been spotted.

Reigynferlgar the Crimson's great serpentine head swung toward where the battle was now beginning, and a low rumble emmitted from her throat as she whipped in the air and shifted directions towards the commotion. She would not be there for many minutes, for she was miles away. But it was only a matter of time...
@Austronaut

[Austronaut]

Isolde pulled at Cedric’s arm fitfully. This other woman, Hilde, clearly was in no condition to travel.

“We cannot stay here,” she implored, her eyes scanning the hallway for other soldiers. She needn't have bothered they alarm bells were ringing unnecessarily now and men were rushing to the walls with panicked shouts.

Suddenly the woman shifted and Gilbrecht’s body slid off her like warm bread dough, dropping to the floor with an undignified thump. Hilde sat up with a ragged gasp her hands going to her throat. A moment later it darted down again making sure her trousers were adequately pulled up. Isolde thought the womans concern for that point a little silly but then it appeared that Gilbrecht had attacked her.

Gore coated the front of Hilde’s white shirt and ran down over her trousers in an ugly blotch. Isolde could only presume it belonged to the deceased knight, as Hilde seemed to be moving freely.

“Cedric,” she rasped and tried to rise to her feet. She swayed dangerously but managed to stay upright. Something exploded close about and dust and grit rained down over the scene.

“He tried to rape me,” Hilde declared by way of explanation. Isolde frowned, it seemed out of character for the stern and unbending Sir Gilbrecht.

“What is going on?”

---------------------------------------------------------------

Balgar the Demonhearted watched the bombardment with a cold satisfaction. His was the most rational of views. Not the orgiastic excess that Crovendiff or the fury of a beserker. His mind was greater than those of other men, the changer had seen to that. The flimsy castle walls would not last. They had been built in an era before firearms and cannon. They were too high and too thin. Already the hellcannon’s blast was excavating vast chunks of masonry. It would not be long.

The undisciplined beastmen were already rushing forward. Many were killed by the showers of stones explosively blown from the walls. Other were cut down with shot and arrows from the defenders. The pretender knights were giving good account of themselves. Even with his enhanced vision he couldn’t see the grim soldier who had troubled him so. Perhaps the man had already fallen. By the end of the day his severed head would adorn Balgars belt, by the Changer it would.

[POOHEAD189]

Cerdic helped her up, looking her up and down to make sure she was alright. He then gazed at the dead Knight, and let out a sigh. He didn't expect the crazed man was one to take advantage of a woman. He had the zealous, near insane look to his eyes when he spoke to Cerdic. A look he had seen on many Templars, and one he made sure not to have himself. But he didn't think Lord Egling had been unhinged enough to do that.

Another cannon shot struck the castle, caving in a room next to them. Self preservation and the mission to make it to make it to Nuln warring with him abandoning a castle full of Imperial men. Not all of them were crazed Templars after all. He knew they'd need to survive a siege to live anyway, and after he was sure that Hilde was up straight, he turned to Isolde. "We have to fight our way out no matter what we do. I'm going to the walls to help."

Isolde opened her mouth to speak, and Hilde had barely gotten herself together as Sergeant Cerdic made his way out of the well furnished room and ran past a few men fleeing. "HEY!" he called to them, giving them a stern look and a wave of his strong arm. "Get your asses to the wall or we'll all be dead. Sigmar is with you!" As he made it through the Castle, he had gathered over two dozen more troops that had been running around without direction.
@Austronaut

[Austronaut]

Isolde opened her mouth to object but Cedric was already out the door, bellowing into the chaos. Hilde pushed Gilbrecht’s stiffening corpse of the bed so it landed with a thump and was concealed behind the low straw mattress.

“We have to get out of here,” Hilde declared urgently, digging through a trunk for a clean shirt even as she stripped off her blood stained garment. Isolde watched her for a moment longer, what had passed between the pistoleer and Gilbrecht. She felt more and more certain that attempted rape was not it, but she had bigger problems to worry about just now.

Hilde pushed roughly past the mage and started trotting down the hallway. Isolde scurried to keep up, not wanting to be left alone. The two women circled downwards on the stone stairs. Hilde drew a pistol from her belt, although more from habit than current need. Isolde grabbed her arm, forcing the other woman to pay attention to her.

“No one wants out of this place more than me, but we don’t even know who is out there,” Isolde declared.

“Yes we do,” Hilde responded with a bone deep certainty.

-----------------------------------------
The wave of screaming beastmen hit the wall, the breach wasn’t complete yet, or even nearly complete, but fallen rubble had made a ramp of sort and they were determined to be first to feast upon the defenders. The nightmarish tide of fur, horns and flesh surged against the battlement.

The defenders hacked and slashed but they were disorganised and scattered. Runners were dispatched for orders from Sir Gilbrecht, but he hadn’t been found. Some knights refused to even leave the central citadel, determined to guard whatever precious artefact was concealed there.

The Hell Cannon roared again, its flaming projectile pulping a score of beastmen climbing towards the breach. The night was filled with the smell of burning meat and scorched hair.