POOHEAD189

The Book Club

So I am debating on whether I should read the Ulster Cycles or Julius Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War, and I cannot decide which to read next.

Post Your Pikcha

Haven't taken a pic in awhile.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 2 (Completed)

Dogs of War: Old World Mercenaries

"We're near out of food and water." Konrad said, after having taken a ginger sip from his water skin. He wiped his mouth and handed it to Olaf, who looked nearly as tired as Camilla. The man was very skilled, and strong as a bull. But he looked as if the small portion of the wastes they had been through had drained much of the fight out of him, and he had already looked as if he had seen near too many winters for another campaign.

"Unless the river is far underground, it could be tainted with warpstone." Skaldi warned. They had made good time despite Camilla's understandably weak pace, but they had still not made it to where the air was cold, and even then the taint of Chaos still flowed freely over the land. The Kislevites had intoned Ursuns name constantly, bewildered at their luck of not being eaten by any of the horrible denizens or warbands that could have come across them in this bleak journey. But Dietrichia had a satisfied look, as if she knew that powerful Gods watched over them as long as Cyrdic and Camilla were there. She insisted they would make it to Praag.

The others were not as optimistic as the witch.

"Can you find an entrance?" Cyrdic asked Skaldi without looking at the Dwarf, instead his gaze was trained backwards and to the east, vigilant for any horrors that might befall them. On the eastern horizon, a vast ruined city of stone and brass reached into the sky, impossibly large. The city dwarfed Altdorf and Middenheim in its size, and the architecture did not look familiar to Cyrdic's sensibilities at all. To the north, the sky shimmered and convulsed with energy. "A cave or some sort?"

"If there's a cavern, I'll find it manling." Skaldi declared, kicking at the dirt once more to reveal the grooves in the ruined earth. It was amazing to Cyrdic that water could have ever flowed here. He had heard stories that the wastes had progressed further and further southwards over the centuries. Cities of ancient Man, Elf, and Dwarf had been swallowed up by its inevitable approach. He hoped it would come no closer to the Empire.

The Dwarf led them south east, over ground that looked as if it would crumble at any moment. Vegetation that seemed to bleed human blood dotted the landscape, caking the ground and giving Cyrdic the feeling they walked over dried, living skin. It was chilling, and for a short while even Camilla did not mind being carried to avoid touching it.

Later that day, the air began to grow a slight chill, and the ground began to look somewhat more normal. Though Cyrdic knew they mustn't let their guard down. Even as far south as Norsca (Sigmar, what a phrase), chaos mutations ran rampant and daemons could be summoned easily. There was a reason the land to its east was called Troll Country. And they were not even there yet.

It was by Ulric's strength and Sigmar's mercy that they finally found a group of crags and a sloping of the landscape, giving it a shallow, mountainous look despite no peaks rising to reach the clouds. Skaldi led them over the ground, and further within, his eyes meticulous and trained to seek any imperfection in the rock.

It seemed his intense focus on the trail had distracted his other senses, however. It wasn't Skaldi that forewarned them of the dangers ahead, but Dietrichia. She threw her hands up and hissed. "Wait!" as loud as she dared, causing the others to pause. Yantz seemed to grow a cold sweat, looking at her curiously. Cyrdic didn't know what was transpiring, until he breathed in through his nose and tasted a faint ozone in the air. A scent that caused his entire form to shudder, and he felt the hairs on his neck raise, as if electrically charged.

"Vat is it?" Ivan whispered, the group now lowered and hiding between the boulders of the uneven landscape.

Ivan was answered by a crack. The noise was deeper and reverberated unlike a blackpowder weapon. Another rumble followed, and a third. Cyrdic hugged the back of the boulder he hid behind, and he could see Camilla and Ivan across a short expanse away from him. He saw his love's eyes widen in horror at whatever being that existed and defied reality behind him. Clenching his teeth, Cyrdic breathed in through his nostrils and slowly inched closer to the edge of his cover, and second by terrifying second, he moved to give himself the slightest peak of what horror lay beyond.

It was at that moment, he felt true fear. He beheld something he never thought he would see in his mortal life. An immortal beast beyond time, tainted by a dark pact with Chaos and wielding a crackling hammer of lightning.

It was a Dragon Ogre.
@Penny

Grim Galaxy: Shots and Chances

"I resent that." Neil said, facetiously offended. He placed down a card as they played to pass the time. "I am exactly as dumb as I look."

"I'm not even going to touch that one." Taya said.

Hours later, as the servants ushered Sayeeda and Taya to their chambers, Neil was suddenly grabbed and escorted into his room, more out of excitement by the seamstresses and court ladies than any sort of demand. But yanked in he was, and the next hour was a blur of clothes swapping, giggles, arguments, and Neil felt himself poked more than once by needles and fingers. If one were to place their ears at the door, they would hear Neil's protests.

"Ladies, please. Ladi- HEY! Don't touch that!"

In a lot of ways he felt more violated at that moment than ever in his life. Usually he enjoyed women fretting over him, but this was exhausting. Luckily, their efforts bore fruit. It was just as Sayeeda left her room and called for him when the ladies shoved Neil out of his quarters to stumble in front of his date. Neil turned back at the door and slammed it, running a hand through his washed, wavy hair. "Goddamn," he gripped.

The pilot wore a practical, albeit handsome garb. A sleeveless, royal purple vest cut in a "Y" shape with gold trim that accentuated his shoulders, closed nearly at the center of the long garment by a maroon sash belt enwrapped snugly at Neil's slim waist. Beneath the vest was a deep colored beige shirt with sleeves that covered the arms. His trousers were loose fitting and dark, with simple, comfortable black shoes. He'd chosen a dashing, exotic look to differentiate himself from the other nobility. On his wrists were golden bands, with bronze inscriptions of a the intellectual language long dead on Dar'Mond.

The pilot sighed, and turned to the Captain, only to blink. "You know, normally I wouldn't say this because of rank and all, but Goddamn." The word now far more flattering from emphasis in contrast to his previous usage of the word toward the seamstresses. "What I mean is, if I get lucky tonight I won't complain." He declared, quite obviously appreciating Sayeeda's look for a long moment, before looked at himself and running a hand over his smoothly woven garb. "Speaking of good looking, sexy right?"
@Penny

Dogs of War: Old World Mercenaries

It was a shock to his senses, his mind whirring with the excess corruption of the Chaotic energies that flowed through Camilla's mind as it tried to ensnare her very soul. He couldn't see the visions that she saw, but he felt a brief glimpse of a dark presence, eternally, painfully beautiful in pose of ecstacy, a wide maw gaping. He saw towers and mountains and visions of himself slaughtering untold thousands of men, only for it all to be gone in an instant.

“Cydric,” she croaked and then rolled onto her side and vomited.

Cyrdic regained his sensibilities just before she awoke, and he dropped his sword onto the hard ground, the landscape having transmuted back into the dried earth of the wasteland once more. They were now in the mountain pass, surrounded by the Elven ruins that seemed on the very precipice of crumbling into the dirt. Beyond them, the landscape shifted in a mockery of an Araby mirage, and Cyrdic could not look for longer than a few moments.

Madness lay there.

Cyrdic wrapped his cloak around her, and scooped her up into his arms. Ivan have a smile that opened his boisterous mustache to reveal his teeth. "Zsank Ursun. Little Dove..."

"We have to go." Dietrichia warned. The men of the party looked around worriedly, as if searching for a lifeline that if they but grasped it, they would be free of this nightmare realm they found themselves in. Skaldi held his axe up defensively, eyeing the landscape with a scrutiny. "My magic is waning, and we have yet to truly face the wastes. We must flee."

Camilla's slim form nestled in his arms and her eyes now able to see him. She cupped his cheek and whispered "Ciao amore mio," and her smile was broad. Cyrdic smiled back. "You drive me insane," he said, and pressed his forehead to hers. The wind began to pick up, soon howling around them, and an unnatural iridescent dust billowed out of the north. It parted at the shimmering barrier of the witch. To his horror, Cyrdic realized it was concentrated warpstone. They needed to move.

"Vot," Ivan said, approaching. "Let me take little dove. Ve have to go and you zshould leed."

Cyrdic reluctantly handed Camilla over, the huge Kislevite holding her easily in one arm as his free hand held his sabre. Camilla wriggled to get more comfortable, claiming she could walk freely while struggling to even sit up. She demanded the elven sword, and though Cyrdic was wary it was a Chaos artifact, Dietrichia placed her finger in the air before the sword and drew a line of blazing energy that burned into the retina. "It is an uncorrupted blade." She said. "Yantz, give it to her."

Yantz mumbled something along the lines of 'she says its safe but wont touch it herself' and handed the wicked blade to Camilla. Picking up his own runic sword, Cyrdic led them southwards where they would likely freeze or starve to death if they did not become the lunch of mountain trolls. If he was not thanking all the Gods for Camilla's safe recovery, he would have begun to think they constantly played a cosmic joke on him.
@Penny

Grim Galaxy: Shots and Chances

Alexander shook from lasting fear, his tousled hair disheveled and whipped to the left from the forceful removal of the aircar. But as the reality of his life remaining donned on him, he let out a rattled breath, and an anger returned to his visage. "You..." he seethed between his teeth, his blue eyes fixed on Junebug. "You insolent-" A foot appeared where his jaw had been, and the royal's neck snapped back, followed by the rest of his body as the unconscious captive fell over. Neil clapped his hands off, satisfied with his handiwork at silencing the man.

"Eat it bitch." Neil spat, grinning, seemingly engrossed in his own world. The pilot turned to Junebug a moment later. "Why didn't you shoot him?" Neil took the shotgun and hefted it, aiming at Alexander, only for it to audibly click once more. "Why didn't y-oh." He turned the comm back on, only to hear Aiden speaking tersely and harsh to Junebug.

"Bring him to me, and we will speak of this later." His voice cut out, to be replaced by Taya's more soft, sympathetic voice. You could almost hear her strained smile. "I got the camera's working again, you probably figured out. I also unaltered the footage from earlier...good job team?"

Neil absorbed all of the information, and nodded after it dawned on him what had just transpired. "Oooooh."

---

The following hours were filled with shouting and aimed guns, as the Prince and his party first fled the opulent wing of Alexander and made their toward the first station of guards they had found, being swiftly inducted into custody while the royal officials of Dar'mond reviewed the tape and gave the footage a metric scan and a full diagnostic. It was only by the will of Aiden's mother the Queen, and the fact they had given themselves over willingly that the officials had even bothered listening to them. That and, the famed cult status the Highlander crew had gained in their brief time on the planet.

Prince Aiden had been cordoned off by the Dar'mond Planetary Defense Department, and after hours of sitting in a cell, Junebug, Neil, and Taya had been set free and escorted under arms to their quarters. The guard that accompanied them to their rooms were decked out in Daristeel plate and carried the latest plasma rifles, embroidered with gold and bronze filigree and enhanced sights along the base of the barrel. Neil had to admit they were fine looking weapons, and judging the power cells, they could even be used in a light anti-tank fashion.

They didn't deign to speak with the crew, however. The doors had simply been shut behind them. However, the group did not even have time to get undressed when the doors were reopened. Taya sighed heavily, deciding not to even give a curtsy to whoever was coming to greet them. As the gateway opened, Ranald stepped through with that looked like a portable vidcaster ledger, his smile meeting his eyes. "Well, I suppose the heroes of Dar'mond have found themselves out of the noose yet again." He said, albeit somewhat sadly, oddly enough.

"Here is the invitation for tomorrow's coronation. It has not been officially announced yet, but the Prince insists the planet gets it over with. I feel as if this ordeal has taxed him."

He placed the invitation in Junebug's hands. "Oh and..." Ranald bared his teeth as if he was about to do something unpleasant. "I am afraid, Captain Cykali, that the Prince has decided that he shan't attend with a date. But he looks forward to seeing you and your friends." There was a small uncomfortable silence, and Ranald clapped his hands to banish the quiet. "Well, you deserve your rest. You will be celebrated and rewarded come the morning...and you have my personal thanks for clearing the Prince's name."

With a bow, he escorted himself out. Taya was already asleep on the lush couch, having not heard the brunt of the man's message. Neil unloosened his collar, grimacing at the suit as if it was personally offending him. "Well...I'd hate to pass up free food, but maybe we should just go." Neil said, then realized what he was suggesting. Junebug's bewildered look showed her surprise at him giving up treasures and prizes.

"You're right, you're right." He said, and placed a hand on his hips as he looked around. His sleeves rolled up and his collar unbuttoned, he would only need a cigarette and Neil would look the part of a scruffy, fetching noire character. He went over to the bar and his delighted "oooooo" revealed that they had restocked the bar yet again. He tossed Junebug her favored whiskey poison, and took up a second bottle for himself.

"So when do we tell Taya?" Sayeeda asked, swilling her bottle, tipping its butt into the air.

"Let's surprise her in the morning." Neil grinned, and tapped his bottle into hers as he took a large gulp as well. He sighed audibly, and a thought popped into his head not moments later. "Since we're going tomorrow, wanna be my date?"
Though it was a serious question, Neil fluttered his lashes.
@Penny

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

@BCTheEntity No worries bud. We have a huge lizardman and a warrior monk, or you could do a solo post if you wish. It's no huge deal!

The Political Thread

@mdk The C.I.A. are reporting that North Korea will not denuclearize. Funnily enough, they will give a few small concessions, such as opening a western burger restaurant in Pyongyang. There's just too many news outlets reporting different things, tbh.

WARHAMMER 40K: THE TARSON INCURSION

Herold gripped the railing within the interior of the Rhino as they bucked and rumbled through the tunnel, crushing under vehicles and corpses alike. Dozens of tons of metal on a rotor track, it would take something incredibly powerful to shear through the Rhino's outer skin. As small patches of light filtering in from tunnel cracks ran through his squadmates, he saw they were simply awaiting the inevitable problem. Something you did not need to be a psyker to foresee.

At first, it sounded like rain upon the hull. Only to suddenly clamor and pop against the protective metal as the light began to grow. The Rhino began to jutter from what must have been extremely large caliber rounds slamming into it. Bolter rounds, he had to guess. He hoped to the Emperor they were not facing what he feared, but his hopes were dashed when an explosion ripped through the side hull of the Rhino and send the others through the other side of the vehicle, barely escaping with their lives as they tumbled into the light and before their enemies. Herold felt his shoulder ache heavily, but he paid it no mind.

Most men would have quaked at the sight of three traitor Astartes gazing at them behind heavy weaponry, but Herold simply regained his stance and placed his shield upon his back. Such protection wouldn't help him against bolter rounds. Fortunately, the rest of his squad was too zealous or insane to fear the traitors, and Nergui charged the enemy line with a preturnatural speed that Herold couldn't match pace with. In a brutal display, Herold saw him dispatch the three marines, and the Arbites felt a newfound respect for Nergui's skills.

"Word Bearers..." The Arbites spat when he learned of their chapter. He stepped over the rise that they had used for cover, and dropped heavily upon one of the Chaos marine's corpses. "Chaos rituals and the like..." Herold went over to check the other side of the trench with the Krieger trooper. He knew little of the ways of the Psyker, and had seen far too many 'rituals' and 'invocations' recently. He'd rather face more traitor marines. Unfortunately, it looked like he would get both.