Army of the Griffon

Player: Kaj Geenen
Army: The Empire
Tournament of Goes, 10^th of September 2006

It was the year of the Griffon, 2006, when somewhere near the shores of Scaldis, in a city called Goes, raids had begun on the Empire. Although not under his jurisdiction, the Elector Count of Talabecland, Karl von Buchholz, could not stand at the side and see this beautiful town be destroyed. The Count under whose jurisdiction Goes was, had need for his troops at the Eastern borders of his province where massive whaaghs of greenskins had been terrorizing the country. So Karl took it upon him to free Goes of its raiders.

As he was a little superstitious, he believed that if he wanted to gain the favour of the Gods his army should have several references towards the Griffon. So he demanded that the greatest monster of Talabheim, Loc’Iet, should be prepared as his mount into battle. Loc’Iet was a towering Griffon of which the egg had been captured by Karl himself after climbing Dead Mans Peak, one of the most difficult climbs in the Empire. Only the Count himself had feed this Griffon, only he could command it. Such was the bound between the Count and his Mount.

	Mv	WS	BS	St	To	Wo	In	At	Ld	Sv	WSv
Elector Count:	4	5	5	4/6	4	3	5	3	9	3+/4+	5+
Griffon:	6	5		5	5	4	5	4	7
Equipment:	Full Plate armour, Hand weapon, Great weapon Bronze Shield, Shroud of Magnus

Then he consulted his personal advisor, the wizard Otto von Zeppel. Von Zeppel was an apprentice of the Celestial Order but always had been very prudent. Never the less his wisdom was regularly consulted by Karl for he was more of an astrologer as he was a mage. Otto agreed to accompany lord von Bucchholz on this campaign.

	Mv	WS	BS	St	To	Wo	In	At	Ld	Sv	WSv
Battle Wizard:	4	3	3	3	3	2	3	1	7
Equipment:	Hand weapon, Level 1, Lore of Heavens 2 Dispel Scrolls

Next Count von Buchholz called one of his most trusted Captains, Baron Manfred von Richthoven. Manfred was in fact the Champion of Talabheim. He has fought in numerous duels and never has been beaten once. It is rumoured that he can match the skills of the Empires greatest champions, Kurt Helborg and Ludwig Schwarzhelm, but this is never been brought to the test. What has been acknowledged is that he prefers to fight his duels in the air on the back of his Pegasus Fock’her.

	Mv	WS	BS	St	To	Wo	In	At	Ld	Sv	WSv
Captain:	4	5	5	4/6	4	2	5	3	9	1+	5+
Pegasus:	8	3		4	4	3	4	2	6
Equipment:	Hand weapon, Great weapon Armour of meteoric Iron, Sigil of Sigmar

The orders for Manfred were simple. He was to select a force agile but resilient enough to liberate Goes and to keep order there until the Elector Count of Averland was able to send troops to the town. Furthermore it had to refer to the year of the Griffon. Manfred took the task at hand and checked through the garrisons of Talabheim which troops could be missed for a longer period. He opted that two infantry regiments would be sufficient and assigned two shooting detachments to them. A small squadron of knights, some pistoliers and the necessary war machines completed the Talabheim campaign troops.

The fastest way for the infantry troops and war machines to get to Goes was by boat. So the army marched on towards the first harbour on their way to Goes. Here Baron von Richthoven hired a ship with a crew. Most of them pirates and cutthroats but then again Manfred wanted to use these guys as small support forces for the infantry troops.

In the harbour there were also different groups of Sell Swords and Mercenaries. They mostly gathered in these kind of places because wealthy tradesmen often hired them at high costs. While their troops embarked Karl, Manfred and Otto walked over the market place. The sound of a nearby blacksmith hammering on his anvil caught their attention. 5 strongly build horses stood in the stable. Otto asked the blacksmith to whom these fine horses belonged. ‘Kislevites!’, was the answer. ‘5 Gryphon Legionnaires from the North. They are there in that pub!’. As they looked towards the pub suddenly a man flew through the window, and another, and another... The noise of chairs crashing and broken glass was now clearly heard in the streets and both Karl and Manfred entered the pub. In the middle they saw 5 unarmed, large men wearing bear pelts. Everywhere in the pub stood cutthroats with their swords and daggers ready to attack them. Several had bruises and black eyes. Apparently the Legionnaires could hold their own with fists but unarmed they would be no match for these men. So Karl and Manfred drew their swords and charged into the fray. The Gryphon Legionnaires grabbed whatever weapon fell first and within minutes the seven military men had everything under control. Those that still could, ran from the pub. Karl stepped towards the leader of the Kislevites and introduced himself. ‘I am Karl von Buchholz, Elector Count of Talabecland and Talabheim. I am on my way to Goes, where enemies of the Empire are invading. I could really use some men like you. Would you consider joining my forces?’ The Kislevites knew that they had to thank their lives to the intervention of these men and so accepted to join them. They picked up their weapons and horses at the blacksmith and accompanied the Elector Count.

The journey went well and soon the troops could disembark well rested near the city of Goes. To gain some advantage on the local terrain Manfred suggested his general to hire some local huntsmen. Their knowledge of the terrain and of setting booby traps would come in handy indeed when facing an enemy.

Von Buccholz overlooked his army. It was not too big but disciplined and versatile. It would be able to strike fast in the heart of most defences but was able to hold itself in an enduring battle also. The time had come to liberate Goes!