Filthy (Skaven AAR) [updated November 27]

[Tigellinus]

Hey!

A rather good friend of mine and I had a discussion about the Skaven just a few days ago. So, happy to say I'm looking forward to reading this!

Kind regards,

Tigellinus

[Alwyn]

Nicely done, Alwyn! Now the dwarf stronghold is yours!

A question to gameplay (as I'm no Warhammer TW player). When you've taken a place like this, do you have to recolonize it, or take some time to convert it to your faction's population? Like, does it use mechanics similar to religion in Rome: Barbarian Invasion to slow you, or can you just romp on past this now that it's under your belt?

Thanks! Warhammer TW has a corruption system, which works similar to religion or culture in other Total War games. 'Order' factions make their regions 'untained' while Skaven occupation adds Skaven corruption (and other 'Chaos' factions have corruption of their own). While some factions prefer regions to be untainted (if they're good guys) or to have their kind of corruption, Skaven are different - they suffer from their own corruption when it gets beyond a certain level (there are ways to manage this). It seems that even Skaven struggle to endure the filth that they generate!

Hey!

A rather good friend of mine and I had a discussion about the Skaven just a few days ago. So, happy to say I'm looking forward to reading this!

Hey Tigellinus, I wonder what got you thinking about the Skaven - were you thinking of playing as them, or fighting them, or was there another reason? I hope you'll enjoy it.

Meanwhile, here's what happened next.

Chapter 8: Threat Assessments

Those bull-headed Ostlanders really will eat anything...even rat - Ostland, Warhammer Wiki

Packmaster Scuttle

Report by Packmaster Scuttle

Now that the dwarf-things of Kraka Drak have been defeated, and we have secured our northern borders by trade with our Norscan friends, we must consider the threats to the south. Encroaching ever closer to our territory are the settlements of two man-thing nations, Kislev and Ostland.

Kislev keeps large armies close to their northern border to defend against Norscan raids. They have a reputation as tough, resilient warriors, even if we don’t believe the old broodmother’s tales about them defeating invading hordes of Chaos warriors from the east. If we attacked Kislev, they could respond quickly and with overwhelming force.

Ostland is a province of the man-thing Empire to the south. Our Norscan friends report that Ostlanders are strong-willed survivors, able to endure great hardship. Any attempt to occupy Ostland’s lands might lead to a response from their Emperor, though the Emperor’s armies are very far away to the south-west. Like Kislev, Ostland is a target for Norscan raiders, so I expected to see Ostland’s warriors guarding their northern border. However, when I travelled into Ostland, there was little evidence of them.

Watch-towers along Ostland’s border roads were empty, and appeared to have been abandoned in haste. The towns on their northern border, near our territory, are sparsely populated. Their garrison man-things are few in number and look under-fed. They clutch their weapons nervously, as if afraid of being surprised at any moment. Something is gnawing away at the strength and morale of Ostland, but what could it be? Have their crops failed, or has a pestilence sapped their will to fight?

This could be an opportunity for our clan to raid-strike their weakened settlements, before they can recover or receive reinforcements from the Emperor. A small force of clan-rats, supported by rat ogres and wolf rats, could move in quickly, take the enemy’s treasures and scurry back to safe warrens before the enemy can react.

Boilrin

Report by Boilrin, Assassin

I have received a message from one of our agents. The message is composed of two symbols. One is the Clan Eshin code for “target has been killed-slain.” The other symbol is used as a warning, when a great danger threatens the clan.

[Kilo11]

Intriguing...

[theSilentKiller]

In one hand, I held Creature Killer, my things-catcher.

True poetry and Creature Killer might the most descriptive name any weapon might have ever had... I like their practicality in all aspects of like Also ominous ending there, with a great danger threatening the clan!

Love the characterization throughout the entire chapters - almost every sentence reflect the mentality and thought process of the narrator so well! Looking forward for more!

[Alwyn]

Thanks, Kilo and TSK!

Chapter 9: The Undying Ones

The life of a typical Sylvanian is as harsh, brutal, and short as that of any Old Worlder, and they see the Vampires as merely another aspect of that. - Warhammer Wiki, Sylvania

Sylvanian Zombies

The zombie man-things were clumsy and slow, and our clan-rats laughed as they cut them down. If we had known what would happen, we would not have laughed. Skaven keep a watchful eye on the ebb and flow of battle, and we scurry to a safer position when the tide turns against us. We expected the zombies to retreat, as Skaven would have done. But, no matter how many zombies we killed, the rest kept advancing. Clan-rats began to exchange startled glances and it was clear what everyone was thinking: why won’t they run?

Sylvanian Skeleton Warriors

The skeleton warriors that followed were almost equal in skill to our clan-rats. As we fought them, we realised something else that wasn’t normal. As the enemy pushed further into our lines, they had a constant trickle of reinforcements from the rear of their line. Some of the reinforcements looked strangely familiar, they had injuries from Skaven blades. We had seen them fall, yet now they stumbled forward. Now we realised what the carts behind the enemy’s line were for. The black-robed figures around the carts were not directing the enemy troops, as we had guessed. They were re-animating fallen undead warriors, and sending them back into the fight.

Unless we killed the necromancers, it wouldn’t matter that our clan-rats were quick to slash-strike the zombies. Eventually, our clan-rats would get tired or unlucky. The broodmothers of a clan-nest can replace Skaven who fall with frequent litters of ratlings. But we must wait until they are fully grown, while our enemy can replace their losses immediately.

We know, now, why the Ostlander garrisons were few and why they watched the horizon fearfully. Every Ostland army which fought Sylvania was ground down by the unrelenting hate of the undead and their general, Helman Ghorst, a master necromancer. Every defeat for Ostland provided fields of the slain, waiting to be animated as undead warriors. As Ostland’s strength waned, the army of Sylvania grew stronger. Ostland’s warriors must have been horrified to see the faces of fallen friends in the enemy ranks. If Clan Moulder wish to avoid the fate of fallen Ostland, we must find a solution to the enemy’s ability to sustain their attack beyond the capacity of an army to continue the fight.

We must kill-slay the necromancers and break-smash the magic-infused carts that help them to re-animate fallen undead. Our rat ogres have the strength to defeat the necromancers, but lack the speed to reach them without being intercepted by the enemy infantry. Our wolf rats are quick enough to reach the rear of the enemy’s line, but lack the staying power to destroy the necromancers. We must find a way to win, but for now we have none.

[Alwyn]

Chapter 10: New Horrors

Brood Horrors are the greatest and most bloated of the Giant Rat species, created and formed when one of the litter begins to mutate extraordinarily fast and begins to feast and devour the rest of its litter, growing at an alarming rate whilst increasing in both strength and savagery. - Warhammer Wiki – Brood Horror

Soon after Clan Moulder’s war with Sylvania began, we realised that we needed a way to kill-slay the enemy necromancers, because otherwise they would re-animate the fallen undead and send them back to fight. Our rat ogres weren’t fast enough to reach the enemy’s rear, where the necromancers did their work. Our wolf rats had the speed, but not the strength needed. As in our previous war with the dwarf-things of Kraka Drak, the answer was to experiment in the flesh laboratory, to create something new.

When we created the Hell-Pit Abomination, we found that creatures given enough growth juice can devour their siblings and acquire unusual size. Given enough warpstone, such a creature can have the speed and ferocity to defeat strong foes. We used this method on young wolf-ratlings, and created our first brood horrors – creatures with the speed of a wolf rat, and the strength of a rat ogre.

Brood Horror

We did not only rely on our brood horrors. We followed Packmaster Scuttle’s advice, and formed a second Clan Moulder army under the command of a warlock, Ekitch. Ekitch was selected for his skill at summoning warp lightning. He took command of clan-rats who were veterans of the war with the dwarf-things, with some rat ogres and our new brood horrors. Ekitch’s army would hit and run, weakening the invading undead and providing information on the strength and capabilities of our enemy.

Ekitch’s army skirmished successfully against the invading zombie man-things and skeleton warriors of the master necromancer Helman Ghorst, and Ekitch began to establish outposts under the ruins of some Ostland cities, for early warning of undead attacks. Each time Helman Ghorst was defeated, the master necromancer returned with more undead warriors, and Ekitch broke his army again.

It was a dying necromancer’s mocking observation who made us realise the mistake that we had made. After coughing up blood and cursing Ekitch, the necromancer explained that Helman Ghorst’s army has the same purpose as Ekitch’s force – it was sent to skirmish with Sylvania’s enemies, to test their strength. If we had fallen back, he would have moved on to other targets. By standing our ground and defeating Ghorst, we showed Sylvania that we were a real threat. Sylvania responded by sending a more powerful army.

They were commanded by Count Mannfred von Carstein, a skilled sorcerer, a powerful vampire and a dragon-rider. While Helman Ghorst marched behind zombies and skeletons who can easily be knocked down, the Count’s army is led by hungry ghouls and armoured wights who could easily outmatch clan-rats. The Count’s army has the strength to destroy a Skaven clan.

Mannfred von Carstein, Count of Sylvania

[Kilo11]

Dang! I miss a couple weeks and I come back to such intensity! This war looks like it'll be nasty, Alwyn. I just hope your little ratlings aren't all sent scurrying back to their burrows.

[Alwyn]

Thanks - and yes they did scurry back to their burrows, although some of the braver Skaven are about to set out again...

Chapter 11: Ekitch’s Finest Hour

The Warlock-Engineers of Clan Skryre are perhaps the most ingenious minds in all Skavendom; insane, diabolical scientists who combine arcane sorcery with mad science to create some of the the greatest technological marvels of mayhemic destruction. - Warhammer Wiki, Warlock Master

The lands around Hell Pit

When two Sylvanian armies of undead warriors marched across the ruins of Northern Oblast (a former province of the fallen man-thing nation of Ostland), Clan Moulder were afraid. Fear has a distinct smell for the Skaven and the stench of fear is contagious; it was everywhere in our warrens, even in Hell Pit itself. While others cowered in deep burrows, huddling together for comfort, Ekitch, our Clan Skryre-trained warlock, led his veteran clan-rats south to distract and delay the enemy. Meanwhile, we waited for news from our emissaries to Clan Gritus and Clan Skryre, and for the results of the latest experiments in our flesh laboratory.

We created an under-city outpost under the man-thing city of Kislev in Southern Oblast, to warn us if Kislev prepared to march on Hell Pit. Kislev were repairing their city walls and sending scouts north-east into the Goromadny Mountains which are Norscan territory, so Kislev was not an immediate threat. Our outpost sent Clan Eshin-trained assassins to investigate Sylvania, and their reports were worrying.

Mannfred von Carstein, Count of Sylvania, ruled an empire from the Gulf of Kislev to the mountains between us and the Northern Dark Lands. He had fourteen cities, mostly taken from the man-thing Empire to the south. Clan Moulder ruled the lands from Hell Pit to the Frozen Sea, but we only had seven settlements – Hell Pit (our capital), Kraka Drak (the city we took from the dwarf-things) and its two towns, two outposts founded by Ekitch in Northern Oblast and our Kislev under-city. Even if our broodmothers could raise litters of ratlings as fast as the enemy’s necromancers can animate undead warriors – which they can’t – we couldn’t match the enemy’s ability to recruit when they had twice as many settlements. Even if we kept winning battles, they would overwhelm us in the end. We expected the man-thing Emperor to march north to take back his lost provinces and destroy Sylvania, but there was no sign of him. Perhaps he has troubles of his own.

When Ekitch went south to face the invading Sylvanian armies, he could have chosen to meet the enemy near one of our colonies. However, he faced the enemy without hope of reinforcements. To the undead warriors of Sylvania, one ruined city looks like another. Clan Moulder’s colonies in Northern Oblast are under the ruins of Ostlander cities, so the enemy could march past, not realising that Skaven are there. Ekitch hoped to keep our colonies hidden and to fight the lesser Sylvanian army under Helman Ghorst. However, when an enemy army appeared, he saw Count Mannfred von Carstein riding his dragon above the enemy’s line.

Note about the map

The areas with the white background on the map are the areas which Clan Moulder can currently see, through settlements, agents, armies and (I think) trade routes.

[Alwyn]

Chapter 12: Ekitch’s Defiance

“Skryre’s most powerful engineers meld sorcery and science until the two are indivisible. ... Tubes and wires pulse and buzz with unholy life as they connect the Engineer to his harness and its fantastic apparatus. Fearful and horrible, indeed, is Skryre’s technology, if it allows such an unholy alliance of flesh and machine.”
Steffan Paulus Adelhof, Scholar of Wolfenburg

- Warhammer Wiki, Warlock Master

Report by Boilrin, Assassin

When Ekitch, Clan Skryre-trained warlock, saw the advancing army of Count Mannfred von Carstein, he must have known how the battle was going to end. The line of undead warriors was mesmerising. As they they marched towards us, they made no boasts or threats, yet their silence was more intimidating than any shouts could have been. Our clan-rats shivered and chittered as the enemy approached, with no sound but the stamp of their boots on the ground and their terrible shining blue undead eyes. I warned Ekitch.

“If you make a stand here, you will fall,” I told him. “If we scurry away, some of us might escape.”

“Don’t you see?” asked Ekitch. “They have cavalry and a dragon. What matters now is how we fall.”

“You fool-fool!” I whispered, “As if it matters how a Skaven falls down”.

Ekitch replied “When the fall’s all that’s left, it matters, yes-yes it does.”

In our skirmishes with the necromancer Helman Ghorst, Ekitch had called down warp lightning, striking a powerful blow against our enemy’s infantry. In our encounter with Count Mannfred, Ekitch tried a form of magic which I had never seen before. The harness on Ekitch’s back, which helps him to focus magical energies, began to emit a high-pitched, piercing sound as he pushed his magic-enhancing apparatus beyond its limit. But what magical effect was he trying to achieve?

Ekitch's magic holding the dragon back

The first thing I noticed was the gentle whooshing of the wind through the trees on our left flank. Then I heard the shrieking of gale-force winds. Count Mannfred’s dragon might have been shrieking too, as it was buffeted by powerful winds, and its wings sought desperately to maintain its height – but I could hear nothing but the howling of the storm.

Ekitch’s night runner slingers appeared from the long grass, seeming to rise from the earth itself. Their Clan Eshin training allows them to be virtually invisible until they are called on. They fired a hail of stones, and I heard a deafening roar of pain from the dragon, even above the storm. Ekitch began to shudder as the energy he was putting into the spell took its toll, and as the dragon fought through the howling warpgale.

Ekitch faces Count Mannfred

The dragon bellowed and swept back its wings, to swoop down on its tormentors, the slingers. But Count Mannfred shouted a command and the dragon turned to focus on a new target, Ekitch. Ekitch stood firm, and lifted himself up to his full height, facing his enemy proudly. Count Mannfred’s dragon struck Ekitch to the ground with a sweep of a powerful claw.

The fall of our brave, defiant commander

Note

There's a small film reference - the conversation between Boilrin and Ekitch paraphrases an exchange in the 1968 film The Lion in Winter. In the film, one character says to another “You fool! As if it matters how a man falls down.” and the reply is “When the fall’s all that’s left, it matters a great deal.”

[Kilo11]

That is an excellent line to have lifted from old cinema, Alwyn! It has such power in and of itself, and it fit brilliantly here. A sad update, but a good one for that. I'll be looking forward to seeing this dragon brought to earth and broken by your rat hordes!

[Alwyn]

Thanks, it's good to hear that the borrowed line worked! A sad update indeed, and there's more sadness to come...

Chapter 13: Ekitch’s Story

Gritus for guards
Mors for poisons
Moulder for war-beasts
Pestilens for plagues
and Skryre for guns
Watch out!
Eshin are behind you.

- Clan Eshin ratling nursery song

From Packmaster Scuttle’s journal

Boilrin, an assassin whose stealth is legendary even among Clan Eshin-trained night runners, was the only survivor of Ekitch’s army. At first, I couldn’t believe it.

“Surely others escaped?” I asked Boilrin. “Are you sure no-one else got away?”

“Perfectly sure,” replied Boilrin.

Many clan-rats, veterans of our war against the dwarf-things of Kraka Drak, were lost. There was no escape from Count Mannfred’s cavalry or his dragon. But Boilrin’s tale of Ekitch’s brave defiance of Count Mannfred spread throughout the warrens of Clan Moulder.

Fortunately, a ruined city with Skaven living underneath looks just like a ruined city without Skaven, unless an invader carries out a thorough search. Count Mannfred had destroyed our army in the field, but he would have to march a long distance to find our settlements. Throt had war-beasts ready to defend Hell Pit, and the emissaries that Clan Moulder had sent to other Skaven clans began to return.

The first emissaries to return had been sent to Clan Gritus, across the World’s Edge Mountains. Clan Gritus could not send an army to help us, as they were under attack from the vampire counts of the Lahmian Sisterhood. Unlike Clan Moulder, Clan Gritus do not have master mutaters who can reinforce their armies with war-beasts. Instead, they train their best clan rats to become Stormvermin – the personal guard of their leader, Metable Hemlock. Stormvermin fight as one, like a man-thing regiment. Metable Hemlock sent a small group of Stormvermin to begin training our young clan rats at Hell Pit. Finally, Clan Moulder would have infantry who can hold a line for more than a short time.

Metable Hemlock and his guard of Stormvermin

The second emissaries to return had gone to Skavenblight, the home of Clan Skryre. Clan Skryre’s master engineers refused to allow our representatives to visit their Forbidden Workshop. Our emissaries had anticipated this and they had another plan. They offered Clan Moulder's war-beasts in exchange for Clan Skryre's weapons – and they had war-beasts with them.

When our emissaries returned with guns from Clan Skryre’s workshops, our ratlings eagerly seized them and began training. Watching the clumsy but enthusiastic efforts of our ratlings as they loaded the six-barrelled guns and fired at at wooden practice targets, I began to hope again.

Even as hope began to return, worry gnawed away at me because we had not received our usual report from the Clan Moulder under-city in Kislev. For a second time, Boilrin returned with news that I couldn’t believe.

“Man-things fleeing Kislev say that the Warriors of Chaos have returned.” Boilrin said.

“But the Warriors of Chaos are a broodmother’s story to frighten ratlings,” I said.

“They’re real enough to destroy Kislev,” Boilrin added.

“Our under-city is lost?” I asked.

“The city is gone – man-things above and Skaven below,” said Boilrin.

[Kilo11]

Dang. Evil tidings, indeed. You got guns though. That might make the difference when you find that dragon again, and that is something to hope for.

[McScottish]

Damn Mannfred and his dragon! Must repay dead-things and rebuild the clan, for Ekitch and for Moulder! Yes-yes.

Oh, great updates as well, I'm loving this.

[Alwyn]

Thanks for your kind comments. Yes, the guns will help, and repaying dead-things is the plan, yes-yes!

Chapter 14: Boom Boom Boom Boom!

This two-Skaven team requires one of its member to strap on the mortar upon his back while a second Skaven would load the ammunition inside the mortar itself. Additionally, with some hastily squealed directions, a team of Poisoned-Wind Mortar has the ability to fire their weapon on the go or fire indirectly at the enemy. Such a situation where hurting the enemy without risking their own lives has always been an appealing idea to any Skaven.
- Poisoned Wind Mortars, Warhammer Wiki

From Packmaster Scuttle’s journal

Too late, we realised that Ekitch’s army did not have what Clan Moulder needed to kill-slay the undead armies of Sylvania. His army had no answer to the trampling hooves of Sylvania’s cavalry or the powerful claws of Count Mannfred’s dragon. His clan rats were hungry for battle, but their short swords did poorly against enemy cavalry. His slingers were stealthy, but they lacked the firepower we needed. Ekitch’s war-beasts, a mutant rat ogre and a Hell-Pit Abomination, were sturdy, but they were surrounded by undead warriors and brought down.

Ratling Guns

Instead of clan rat swordsmen, the front line of Throt’s new army were pairs of excited ratlings; in each pair, one carried a six-barrelled gun and the other pumped the steam which helps to propel Warpstone bullets at high velocity. When the enemy got close, the gunners fell back behind our Stormvermin, who raised their halberds to present a formidable barrier.

Poisoned Wind Mortars

Behind the gunners and the Stormvermin were more two-Skaven teams. In each of these pairs, one Skaven struggled under the weight of a heavy large-barrelled mortar on his back, while the other carried the poisoned wind globes that we used as ammunition. In training, occasionally a clumsy Skaven dropped a globe and this taught the others valuable lessons about being careful. The globes were fired in a high arc over over our infantry and exploded on impact, blasting gaps in the enemy lines and disrupting their cohesion. When Ekitch’s army fought Sylvania, disorderly clan rats struggled to fight undead warriors who marched in orderly lines. With Throt’s new army, an orderly line of Stormvermin enemy would meet an enemy advance that was thinned by our gunners and disrupted by our mortars.

To fight Count Mannfred and his dragon, Throt brought hungry war-beasts, who had the size and strength needed to fight a dragon. With this new army, we finally had a chance against Syvlania’s undead armies. But Sylvania still had over twice our territory, and they were acquiring more: a Clan Moulder scout saw the red and black banner of Sylvania over the ruins of the great city of Kislev. Man-things fleeing the city had said that it was destroyed by the Warriors of Chaos, who are legendary marauders out of a broodmother’s tale to scare ratlings. But whether or not Chaos warriors really destroyed the city, Sylvania held it now – and with it, a bountiful supply of corpses for their necromancers.

[Kilo11]

Rat-a-tat-tat! Get yo' boys out there and zipper that dragon straight outta the sky!

Seriously, I can't wait to see the guns and artillery brought to bear!

[Bande Nere]

Never played WH but hot damn, that's impressive. Love the writing style, yes - yes!

A tear of joy went down my cheek when I saw the ratling guns. Can't wait to see them perform!

I wonder what dragon tastes like.

[Alwyn]

Thanks Kilo and DavidBN, I enjoyed seeing the ratling guns and the artillery in action too! Here are the opening moves of the battle ...

Chapter 15: Throt and the Count

Crypt Ghouls are ugly, stooping creatures with only a vestigial sense of their former life or personality. Their skin is sallow and filthy, their eyes are bestial and insane, and their snarling lips reveal sharp-pointed teeth in slavering mouths. Dressed only in the rags they pull from their victims, Crypt Ghouls carry weapons they have picked up or have crudely fashioned from the remains of their unwholesome meals. Crypt Ghouls, Warhammer Wiki

From Packmaster Scuttle’s journal

Sylvanian cavalry

When Throt’s new army marched to meet the Sylvanian undead hordes of the necromancer Helman Ghorst and the vampire count, Count Mannfred, the enemy’s horsemen reached us first. The Sylvanian cavalry were clothed in blood-red cloth with the unnaturally bright blue eyes which all Count Mannfred’s undead servants had.

There was something new marching with them – sharp-toothed ghouls with long claws. The ghouls stood taller than an undead man-thing on a horse, ran with long strides, and had bone spines protruding out of their backs. Perhaps Count Mannfred had noticed the strength of our Clan Moulder war-beasts, and decided to create undead war-beasts of his own? Our new army had surprises ready for Count Mannfred, but it seemed that he also had surprises for us.

Ratling gunners

As the enemy cavalry approached our front line, our ratling gunners fired a volley of warpstone bullets with their six-barrelled weapons. The ratlings yelled “this is for Ekitch!” and began to reload their weapons as quickly as they could. It takes only a few seconds for a ratling gunner to fire, but longer to reload. One ratling dropped his empty gun with a shriek and spat frantically on his paws before plunging them into the soft mud at his feet; it seems that these multi-barrelled guns can get very hot.

Sylvanian ghouls

The ratling gunners had brought down many of the enemy cavalry, but the ghouls continued their charge into our front line, swinging bone axes with immense strength. Our ratling gunners fell back, and our second line of Stormvermin stepped forward to meet the enemy charge with a line of halberds. In previous battles, our clan rat swordsmen had buckled and broken under the pressure of the enemy’s charge – but our Stormvermin would hold the line, at least for a while.

Boilrin the assassin

We were one army against two armies, and the enemy pressed hard on our flanks, trying to break through to our ratling gunners, and the weapons teams carrying our poisoned wind mortars. On our right flank, Boilrin the assassin fought alone, dodging and blocking the swords of a regiment of skeletal dead-things. As he fought with two blades, he could block an attack and strike back in the same moment. There was the occasional clattering sound, as one of the skeleton warriors collapsed into a heap of bones, and then another.

Throt, Lord of Hell Pit (with Count Mannfred arriving on his dragon)

On our left flank, Throt was striking down slow-moving zombie-things with a weapon in each of his three arms. In the enemy’s rear, the lamps of Helman Ghorst’s magic-infused cart shone like a pair of cat’s eyes in the darkness, and the red wings of Count Mannfred’s dragon swept down. Soon, Throt would be facing both the necromancer and the vampire count – and Throt’s heavily outnumbered army had no reserves to call to fight alongside him.

[Bande Nere]

That dragon really needs some love from the ratlings.

I hope the Skavens have a trick up their sleeves, for the sake of all ratdom!

[Alwyn]

Thanks, Bande Nere! Throt returns today, and yes he need every trick he can get against Count Mannfred's dragon.

Chapter 16: Incantations against Dragons

I thought there were few pleasures left in the world that I had not already experienced, certainly none that were worth expending any effort towards. I must confess, though, to the great thrill I felt when I first bound Agorak the Silent to my will. As delicious as it was, it paled in comparison to the joy I felt when I finally had the opportunity to unleash him on my enemies. Nothing quite like a Dragon to put fear into the hearts of Men. So much better if he's Undead!

Constantin von Carstein, Vampire Lord
Warhammer Wiki

From Packmaster Scuttle’s journal

The folk-tales of man-things tell us that there are two ways to defeat a dragon. A King, frustrated by the defeat of every expedition which he sent, finally utters a desperate promise – half of his kingdom for a brave knight who can rescue a princess from the dragon’s lair. It’s customary that the dragon inexplicably misses the opportunity to flame-grill the knight in his armour.

Alternatively, an archer watches a dragon swooping towards his town. The dragon is about to reduce the town and the man-things dwelling there to ash and smoke. I believe that it’s customary for the man-thing to draw his last, lucky arrow and to say “it’s a million to one chance, but it might just work!”. Like the King’s incantation about half his kingdom, this phrase seems to have mystical power, enabling the lucky arrow to hit-strike the dragon’s one vulnerable spot.

Yes-yes, man-things in folk tales have it easy. Throt, lord of Hell-Pit, was not going to promise half of his territory to anyone. Even if he did, a man-thing knight would not fight a dragon for the promise of a union with even the most lithe and winsome young Skaven broodmother. As for the other option, any witless rat who tried to drop a dragon with a single arrow would be dead in seconds.

When Throt faced the dragon of Count Mannfred von Carstein, Throt didn’t offer a kingdom, or whisper that an unlikely fool’s hope might prevail. Instead, he called out a single word to the ratling gunners - “Fire!”.

There was a hiss as the steam-pumps attached to the ratlings’ six-barrelled guns accelerated the warpstone bullets, boosting their penetrating power. Steam-accelerated warpstone bullets can penetrate even the thick leathery hide of a zombie dragon. After the first volley, the dragon screamed in fury and swept back its wings, as if it was going to take flight. Count Mannfred appeared to direct full strength of his vampire’s will, forcing his dragon to remain in the fight. A second volley struck the dragon, and a third as another company of ratling gunners turned and fired. This time, the dragon’s scream seemed to pierce me to the bone, as the dragon’s wings swept back again, carrying its rider into the sky.

[Kilo11]

Oh, dude, the references in this update are gold! And you managed to get Tolkien and Pratchett into one sentence there with the cheekiness of your Esgaroth reference. Loved this, and the idea of Vulcan mini-guns being used to shred a dragon. Excellent job, Alwyn!