Re:Hammer (Warhammer Fanfic, 99871 words)

[LillyanaKabal]

Sir Zashira. Ridiculous. Truly ridiculous. There was no way, no chance, and even if there was, she would suck at it. So instead, she looked to Traukon and decided to crack up a conversation.
“So, how was your Defense Mission?” she asked. The game terms seemed a little strange to voice, but also somehow, a point of reality.
“Ahh, I had an Extermination Mission.Orcs, Goblins, Ratmen. All of them met my Az!” He raised the shining half-moon axe, and thrust it into the air.
“Ratmen?” Estaria’s eyebrows were raised in surprise. She had fought them, but thought them mere constructs…
“Aye. Blasted Skaven, they infest the tunnels of the Underway. Warrens all across the Old World and the New. But they are nothing that can’t be solved by Dwarven steel” Traukon put the axe down, and then hefted a large, rune-covered hammer. “As for this, well...Orange Hammer, Thungni’s Hammer. I am no Runesmith but the Runes on it look old. Maybe, we regain knowledge of many runes this day” he nodded, and then put the hammer away and grinned. “So, Hero Of The Empire, huh?” he asked, his tone teasing. Estaria’s cheeks flushed and her face became as thunder.
“I’ve got 82 strength, I will punt you” she retorted. Thunderous laughter came from Traukon, and then conversation turned to a lighter, more time-passing pursuit, and eventually the caravan arrived.



Standing out to meet them, was a Dwarf with a long beard and runed equipment. He had an aura of power and it was pretty clear he was the Runelord of this Karak. As for the Karak itself, it wasn’t quite as impressive as she thought it would be. The sight of a fortress city carved into the mountain was impressive, but it was surprisingly small. Possibly a lesser Karak. Still, Estaria only spent a few seconds staring in awe before unstrapping her Sword, and handing it to the Runelord. Traukon appeared before the Runelord could unsheath the blade, and handed over the Hammer as well.
“An Orc Warboss was wielding this, and so I took it from him, along with his head” Traukon lied. Easier than the truth.
“A most blessed day. Come, enter the Karak! We have meat, ale, and fire for you to rest by!” The Runelord exclaimed, gesturing them inside. Estaria entered, and was more amazed than she was by the outside appearance. These Dwarves really did excel at craftsmanship. The carving of the stone was amazing, and the insides were - despite the Dwarves’ stunted size - immense in scope and scale. Inside was a bustle of activity, with Dwarves moving with determination and discipline. There was no meandering, no lost wander, everyone knew where they were going and why. So radically different to a human city.


Guided to the Main Hall, conversation dimmed as she was seen, but a sharp Khazalid command from the Runelord made the seemingly hostile feel go away, and replaced with one of interest and curiosity. Estaria was plied with the promised meat and ale, the fire roared and Dwarves pulled her into rancorious activity. Great ruckus filled the air between conversation, about what brought her here, how she felt of what she had seen, and then onto her equipment. Two blacksmiths began to boast they were the superior and could make even the pig-iron slab of metal Estaria was wearing a venerable piece of protection. This argument, fueled by ale, became a brawl, and it was one that Estaria - thoroughly drunk off potent dwarven ale - was dragged into once her food and drink was spilled by the fight. All in all, the night was a glorious one. Spectacular, and truly what she expected a Dwarf dinner to be like.


The morning was not quite so good. There was a thumping in her skull, like the pounding of an anvil, and she was surprisingly light, the reason for which was her being almost naked.
“Ahh, she wakes!” A bellow came from a meaty Dwarf, and Estaria got herself up to look at him. It seemed the thumping wasn’t so much in her skull as it was an actual pounding of an anvil. Apparently she passed out in a Blacksmith’s forge. While in naught but her keks.
“Seems like I had a fun night” she muttered, scratching her head and standing up proper.
“Aye. Troargargrum and Elbegg started a fight over who could fix your armour, and then you got dragged into it. After black eyes, all three of your barreled in here, and demanded my Forge. It was a surprise to see a human come in with two dwarves. I placated them by telling them I would set the forge up, but you said you wanted to watch. And then, five minutes later, exclaimed it was too hot, threw your clothes into the forge, and passed out in the corner. The others didn’t return, so I assume they forgot. As for the grindal, they were there when you got here”


The Dwarf had a tone of mirth as he explained what Estaria had done last night, and the woman’s cheeks flushed.
“Sorry, for the bother” she said, looking about, and then stepping backwards. “I’m….going to go find some clothes” she told him, waiting for his nod before taking off like a bullet. Her agility was tremendous, and with her Celerity, she could reach an obscene level of speed, which got her to the quartermaster in short order. “So, do you have any human-sized clothes?” she asked. The quartermaster, who had been busy doing his daily work, looked up at this muscular, half-naked human and just stared.
“Estaria! You run like a horse!” came a booming shout from Traukon, who was running very fast for a Dwarf, and carrying a package under his arm. This package, was handed to Es when he arrived. “I heard what happened last night, so I went to go find this. Some Dwarf had a hobby of collecting Elf dresses, and then he got an arrow to the skull, so they were just gathering dust. Strange Dawi, that one…”


Estaria was deeply thankful for any clothes, and the package was opened, revealing a beautiful dress, which went on and made the Captain beam with delight. The material was so smooth, and so light, she could really get used to wearing something like this.
“Definitely not going to be throwing this in the forge. Thank you, Traukon” Estaria even gave him a curtsey now she had the dress to do it. It was lost on the Dwarf, however, who just waved.
“Come on! Breakfast is ready” Traukon exclaimed. Estaria put a hand up to the long platon her head, and looked to Traukon.
“So, how did my hair get like this?” It was, to feel,quite the attractive design. And as they passed some reflective stone, she even admired it a little in what passed for a mirror.
“Ahh, some young Kvinn saw you about and exclaimed she had never worked an Umgi’s hair before. And so you sat down on the floor and let her plat it. And then she went off to tell her friends. Now stop gawking! This Dawi needs food!”


*****


A hilarious breakfast, if the laughter was any indication. Though, possibly half from the system and half from her own actions, she seemed to have an ultimately positive reputation with this Karak. She had got a title of Azul Umgi or “Dependable Human”. Which, knowing them, was actually really flattering. After that, she was left to wander, Elfish dress and grindal in her hair. This wander took her over to the gunsmiths, where she marveled at the pristine craftsmanship of the weapons on show. They weren’t for sale, and Estaria didn’t insult anyone with the offer, but she could look. And hope. That hope was rewarded when she saw one gunsmith not working on guns, but instead setting up in the training grounds, and doing something interesting. Above him on a board, hung the most beautiful pistol she had ever seen in her life. Long barreled, engraved front, Gromril engraving, rifled internals...she spent a long time looking at it before finally going up to the Dwarf and asking. It took him a few seconds to get over the shock of the Umgi appearing, but then he spoke easily enough.


“Setting up a contest to win my pistol. I don’t want it being bought and sit in someone’s trophy cabinet. I want it used! She begs to see action” The gunsmith was passionate, and Estaria nodded, though she did admit the lack of current equipment. “Ack, no worry. Plenty of spare thrunds lying about” he then pulled one out from under the cart, and handed it to Estaria. The weapon was a magnificent bit of Dwarf craft, perfectly balanced, smooth finish, and something strange, that she hadn’t seen before.
“What’s this?” she asked, pointing to a strange cap. Having seen that, the Dwarf panicked and tried to grab the gun, but it was held out of reach by Estaria. Seeing no other option, the Dwarf grumbled and then kicked a loose stone.


“It’s a percussion cap. Firearm addition that helps keep the powder dry and also allows for faster reloading than most firearms. Trying to get all the kinks out of it before I take it to the Engineers. A Dwarf doesn’t take to innovation well, they prefer the tradition of proven things” The Gunsmith explained, before sudden surprise as the crack of the firearm rang out, and then Estaria was reloading it. The dwarf spluttered, and there was a second shot, before she nodded. Precision and her Traits might be changing things, but there was still a degree of skill required in firing. Precision would only allow for more accuracy, you still needed to align and gauge distance and drop.


“Well, if the Engineers won’t accept your Percussion Cap, then you should take it to Nuln. Imperial Gunnery School would love such a thing. Was my dream to be an Ironside, once” She smiled, and then handed the gun back.The dwarf seemed thoughtful for a moment, and then handed her a different gun. More dwarves gathered, and the contest began. Here, she saw it was not just the craftsmanship of the Dwarves that was strong, but the skill at arms as well. Their accuracy was something to be respected, even against Estaria’s preternatural ability. But, eventually it came down to the wire and Estaria took the victory, earning the right to own “Troll-Drenger”. Which, was stored away in the dress and a happy Estaria left to continue her exploration.

[LillyanaKabal]

With some self-control, it was a really nice vacation, this Karak. The food was good, the beer was good, the company was good. And the training ground was also good. She tried to convince herself for ten solid minutes that sher was on vacation and wasn’t going to go training every day. And then she went training every day. The ‘Elite’ Training was difficult, and took her quite a while, especially because she wanted to overcomplete them. The rewards for such were interesting, she was given the choice between plus 3 to a stat, or three medals - which would become six with her Highly Decorated trait - and she picked the medals. They really gave a lot of cool stuff, and her stats were pretty dam high already. Overcompleton gave her experience, which was always good but she was pretty high now, so it wasn’t going that far up with every training. It pushed her over to 32, but the crawl to 33 was slow. She leveled well off the multitude of enemies she fought, but this training was small by comparison. If it wasn’t the End-Times, she wouldn’t be half as leveled as she was.


Eventually, the final day came, and she was exploring the rest of the Karak, when she saw a most interesting hole. Well, it looked like a hole but to the Dawi it was probably a tunnel. Opening the oft-unused minimap, she saw irritating fog of war. And so went into the shop and bought a map that revealed the whole of the Karak, tunnels included. Down there was pretty extensive, but what was exploration without going into the horrible tunnel system filled with monsters? So she equipped her armour, the backup sword she bought from a smith and her shield, and finally the two pistols, Troll-Drenger and the thing she won from the random box. With those, she stepped into the tunnels, and got a popup.


Field Dungeon - Expansive dungeon located in the real world, treasures and possibility await. Field Dungeons can possess their own mini-dungeons as well the Field Boss, a mighty opponent that has guaranteed Orange-rank loot


Estaria’s eyes lit up when she saw that the Field Boss had guaranteed Orange-rank loot. That was definitely something she was going to get, so she opened the shop and bought the advanced map, which would track the locations of allies and enemies. She had experimented with the system in her downtime and the simple map she got - but rarely used - was pretty intuitive when worked on. Blue dots and red dots lit up the tunnel, and one large blue dot showed her the location of her friend, Traukon. So, using her extreme speed, she took off and hunted down the Dwarf, finding him cutting his way through a small crowd of Skaven. They really were real, huh?


“Estaria? What are you doing down here?” he asked, after braining the last rat with his axe.
“Found the entrance, thought it looked fun, decided to check it out. Is this what you do every day?” she asked, looking about the place.
“Aye. As an Ironbreaker, it is my duty to keep these tunnels as clean as can be. And as a player, killing hordes of enemies every day works spectacularly for leveling an’ looting” He nodded, then cleaned off his axe and looked to the map. Dwarves had good sense of direction underground, but a magical all-knowing map that designated enemy locations was more helpful than that.
“So, ever gone to the Field Boss?” she asked, tapping the large red dot with a skull on it.
“Ahh, that Drengkai. I went there a while back and almost died! A little apprehensive to return, despite a higher level” he exclaimed. To be called a Drengkai - Thing that needs killing, in common tongue - meant he really was not happy with how the last fight went. But, Estaria could understand his feelings, she’d still not gone to the B-rank dungeon boss because of how last time went.


“Why don’t we try it together?” she asked him, offering something rather novel. This whole other player thing meant she didn’t have to solo play anymore. Traukon looked up, and then nodded at the idea.
“Aye! Try not to run off like a damned Elgi though. A dwarf is like a rock. Doesn’t move fast, unless rolling down hill” Estaria laughed at the idea of a dwarf rolling down a hill, and together they went off to go to the Field Boss. The enemies that they faced were in small packs, and between two mid-level players, didn’t stand much of a chance. And so they followed the map to the Field Boss, which was in the middle of a Skaven Warren. By herself, that might have been a problem, since there were a lot more rats here than outside.


Still, most of them were just slaves and Clansrats, so their only boon was number, and that boon was devastated on the front of two Players. The number was enough to level up Estaria, which was to be expected really. Though they were pretty low level, she had carved through over a hundred ratmen to get here, and then that number again in the nest. Had they all have been larger Clansrats, the two might have struggled to get through the horde, but as it stood, this mini-dungeon lacked the elites to press them proper.
“Surprisingly long distance, huh? My high Stamina is making long things feel less long because I just don’t feel the trek” she commented, sitting about abit to make sure her Luck and Fatigue were at the best possible values before heading in.
“Ahh, we Dwarves don’t feel the strain of activity at the best of times, but I will certainly admit I can spend all day in here with my Ironbreaker brothers, and then all night here by myself, and have but an hour to sleep an an hour to eat. It is most industrious” Traukon made sure none of the sneaky Skaven were playing dead, and then nodded.


“Even though I could statistically, I don’t think I could mentally handle that kind of activity…” Estaria shook her head, before moving onwards, and coming to a deep pit. Inside it, was the red-coloured “Gnawsplit The Unbreakable” Field Boss. A tremendous mass of horrific flesh and metal slithered in the pit, far beyond anything Estaria had ever seen in her life.
“What the is that?” Estaria demanded, recoiling at the sight. She was rarely so vulgar, but this...thing, was….vulgar to the extreme.
“An Abomination of the Hell-Pit. We don’t usually see them in the tunnel because it is just too big, but out in the field, it can be a terrifying force to be reckoned with. The Longbeards tell stories of it taking cannon volleys and crushing Steam-Tanks under foot” Traukon explained, pulling out one of his throwing axes.
“And we are meant to do what precisely? I wouldn’t even know where to start!” She exclaimed, staring at the mass of flesh.
“Just hit it, Umgi! It’ll die eventually” Traukon then launched his ax and lept into the pit. The axe sunk deep into the creature’s back, and then the fight had started. Great.


Estaria pulled Troll-Drenger and shot an important looking pipe, which seemed to really piss the creature off since a thunderous roar filled the air as some sort of chemical bile spilled from the pipe. She shot off her second bullet and then, summoning her Handgunners around the edge to provide fire support, jumped in herself, rushing the creature and slashing at what looked to be a leg, summoning her Greatswordsman as well to give her some extra support on the ground. The leg, could have been a fist. Could have been a head. This thing didn’t really have any central biology to make a good idea of where to hit. And to make matters worse, the wound seemed to spit and belch out new flesh to regenerate the damage already done.
“A regenerating, monstrous creation of science. Lovely!” she exclaimed, using her Double Slash to bite deep into the creature’s flank and spill what might be blood. Or just more chemical soup. Traukon was busy hacking, slashing, wacking and generally smiting the damn thing, and didn’t engage in banter at all.


Though Estaria’s banter was short-lived as the creature swung around and smashed both her and Traukon with it’s massive tail. Between his armour and stocky build, Traukon managed to stay on his feet, and the Greatswords mostly got out of the way, but Estaria tried to leap over it and misjudged the size, so was blown into a nearby wall. After extracting herself from it, she took the oppitunity to reload Troll-Drenger and shoot a few more vital looking contraptions on the thing. The floor was slick with blood by this point, and Traukon’s armour was coated from head to toe. One of the cogs that she shot let out a shrieking grind and then part of the creature’s flesh began to bubble and bloat before bursting in a shower of steam and slime. A volley of bullets from the Handgunners seemed to just, soak into the creature’s flesh, leaving wounds till they popped the bullets out.


“There is no bath big enough to justify fighting this thing!” Estaria shouted, leaping into the air and driving her sword into the mass of flesh that might possibly pass for a head on this damn thing. It had either suffered enough damage or run out of whatever was regenerating it, since her slashes were leaving lasting marks now. Though it’s size was so great that even driving her blade down to the hilt didn’t hit anything vital, she could still do that and then writhe the sword back out, splitting a massive rend across the creature and filling the air with more pus and blood. Ditching the puss-covered slime sword and ordering one of the greatswordsmen to throw her their blade, she caught it and then bought it down with a tremendous slam, cutting into the creatures body and then slashing, the long blade making massive cuts until finally, she hit something that was clearly quite important because the beast let out a roar and swayed - either that or she had just caused one of his three Critical Wounds. Driving the sword downwards, and getting a second volley to rake the beast’s side, she forced the greatsword to the hilt and bisected the organ.


In it’s death throngs, the creature thrashed, and several of her Greatswordsmen died, their plate collapsing and their bodies crushed under the weight. One great roar from Traukon, and the beast fell, it’s supporting leg cut clean off and no more regeneration to recover. A final whine was drowned out by the Handgunners, and the beast...moved no more.
“I’m...not even sure an Orange is worth what I just went through….” Estaria groaned, as the handgunners faded away, and the greatsword in her hand popped out of reality when the summon timed out.

[LillyanaKabal]

The first thing that happened after felling the beast was Estaria buying herself a barrel of water from the shop, which she then ripped open and dunked over herself. The raging torrent of water washed away most of it, but she would need a long, hot patronizing of the Dawi’s fabulous flowing baths - Runes of Heat warming water from the mountain and specially crafted channels allowing for varying degrees of water jets to wash a Dwarf clean in a fraction of the time it took to draw and take a bath - before she truly got over that monster.
“Do you want one?” she asked Traukon, who was cleaning his axe before putting it away. The axe, brought up the fact of her own weapon, or lack thereof. Lost somewhere in the slime and she was not going searching for that twenty throne blade. So she bought another one from the shop, simple but elegant. She was getting Ulric’s Fang back soon, but was still in the Underway, and needed something.

Traukon, shook his head, and then with a flick, showed her the screen his was looking at. There was two options listed here, and the names “Traukon” and “Estaria” above them, the names yet assigned.

Double Experience
Orange Equipment

Clearly, the guaranteed drop of the Field Boss wasn’t one for each of them, and the other had to take the double exp. While she liked Traukon, she wasn’t just going to give up an Orange-rank equipment for him, and so pulled out a silver piece and tossed it to him.
“Flip it. If the Emperor shows his face, I’ll get the Orange” She told him. Traukon didn’t have much of an objection as he flipped the coin, and then caught it in his hand when it finally came down to land. Estaria peered in, and saw that the city of Altdorf - where it had been minted - was shown. Having lost, Estaria blew out a breath and tapped the Double Experience, confirming it on the box and giving whatever Orange this beast would yield, to Traukon.

“Cloak Of The Underway. Ooh, like a Dwarf needs any more resilience. Like Gromril itself” Traukon’s commentary as he looked up the stats of his new item gave Estaria an idea of what it did, and she was glad for it. Having her friend die on his expeditions through the Underway was not going to help their budding friendship.
“T’as been a solid outting, Es!” Traukon’s booming voice made it clear he enjoyed the ultimate outcome. And Estaria couldn’t complain eve, as she got some welcome boxes.

You have leveled up
You have leveled up
You have leveled up

100 Dexterity: Quicksilver Viper - A man may act several seconds past this strike before realizing it has even been struck. Spend cool to launch an ultra-high speed attack that is almost impossible to evade

Three level ups, from double this creature’s value, and a trait that didn’t seem very helpful but was more for those with fast reflexes, like the Beastlord. She looked over the exp and shook her head softly.
“I should damn well think so too. Was messier than a Festag Drunkard” she muttered to herself, before nodding to Traukon. “Shall hope to never repeat killing a being in such a grotesque fashion, but yes-” Estaria flicked over to her traits and looked through them, before her eyes grew with intense glee. “-most solid…” the trait that she saw was immediately picked, and she couldn’t wait to call upon them and see what kind of glorious carnage could be wrecked by these.

Storied Brethren - Call a squad of 6 Carroburg Greatswordsmen to your side (this replaces the 4 standard Greatswordsmen)

“I got a new summon trait, so I am going to go find a small nest of buggers to try them on, then make my way topside. You heading anywhere particular?” she asked, stepping out of the gunk and getting up the slope to solid land.
“Ahh, got my daily route through the Underway to do, then to the feast hall. I shall meet you there, if you do not try to wear your skin away with the flow of water” he gave a final laugh, and then headed off ahead of Estaria to his training. Getting under the controlled waterfall until her skin slogged off was an appearing idea, but she sort of needed that skin to survive, so decided against it and just followed the minimap to where a group of Skaven were huddled, gnawing on….Skaven bones. These creatures were so depraved to be cannibalistic.

Estaria snapped her finger, and they appeared, six men in glistening Full Plate, swords twice the length and half again the girth of her own, and sturn grizzled expressions as they faced down the rats. She gave the order, and the blades butchered the rats, a single swing sufficient to cleave them in half, and the twisted weapons that the Skaven called swords would glance and reflect off the Plate that the Greatswords wore. Quickly it became apparent that the Skaven were facing what amounted to indestructible Gods, and so they scurried away, few managing to escape beyond the reach of the blades, and none beyond the reach of Estaria’s guns. These, beautiful men would be such a boon when it came to Dungeon farming. And maybe even boss battles.

A second snap of her finger dismissed them, and she got a pop-up telling her that dismissal reduced the cooldown to bring them again. That was nice to know, but there were few situations she could think of where she wouldn’t need their full help. Maybe when she was bored or testing, like now? With the one last thing to do, done, Estaria left the Underway, and found all the amenities she needed to get rid of the horrible thing she had just come across.



****



Sat back on the wagon heading towards the Gromril mine-fort, Estaria nibbled on the rations she had packed for the journey, and read the letter - of course, she had to jump through hoops to be able to read it, being illiterate and all. First it was stored in her inventory, and then she selected it in the inventory and read the discription of it's contents. Hardly worth the effort, The letter was simply a request for her to report to the Major’s office at the earliest convenience, a physical manifestation of her metaphysical quest.

With that done, Estaria leaned back and thought about the week she had just had. Not only did she get to see what few humans had seen, she had even made friends among the Dwarves and spent a week off just relaxing for the most part. With nobody to talk with and the letter read, Estaria caught a quick nap until they arrived at the Mine, which woke her and she exited, helping the man unload his materials. The Dwarves really had managed to turn this reinforced redoubt into a Shanty-Fort. Barracks, Cook-houses, makeshift Inns and Blacksmiths, and a host of residences. Everything a soldier needed. And the walls, heavy wooden walls, with watch-towers, reinforced with ditches and spikes. While it wouldn’t keep out an army, any incursion less than that would find themselves hard-pressed to make headway.

It was lovely to see progress, as well as human mingling with City-Dwarf and Karak-Dwarf, a melding pot of culture and culinary taste. Several mercenary divisions had left, and several more had arrived. She did not see the great form of Borrago, so he must have left to return to Altdorf. Which was what she was doing as soon as she found someone to go with. Superhuman maybe, but being in a group meant she didn’t have to fight off every monster, man or beast, that decided a lone woman was an easy target. Still, the bellowing of a Dwarf did attract her to the master of this fort, the man who Estaria had given the Gromril to when she completed the Defense quest.
“Hey! Nice place you got. Really good work ethic” Estaria complimented. The dwarf ceased bellowing for a moment and preened with pride.
“Gold and Grog keep the Umgi active, and Duty propells the Dawi. It’s a recipe for success here, though we need one for the Tunnels. Damned Rats are growing more numerous every day. Driven out the Greenskin tribes and are just festering. Warrens cropping up every day” obviously, he devolved to grumbling, but that grumble did give her a mind to return later if she could…

“Anyone heading to Altdorf?” she asked, and was directed to a party of Dwarves, who were planning to return to the city, gather supplies, more Dwarves from the slums, and secure some trade routes that would ease the strain of the Karaks. So she hung around till everyone had gathered their gear and spent her time buying some rations from the shop to add to the group’s supply - always have more food than needed, because chance was always good you’d need it - and then they set out. It was good luck to allow them to pass through to the lowlands of the Empire without incident beyond a few Goblins dissuaded by bullet and bolt. And once in the lowlands, the South had yet to fall under the hold of the Horde, and so it was mostly safe. Very few bandits in this time of activity, for jobs were aplenty. Fortune and Glory to be had. The second part, Glory, was what caused Estaria’s step to jitter with nervous energy as they arrived at Altdorf and she reached the Major’s office.

He looked up, nodded wordlessly, and finished the line he was writing on some parchment before getting up and gesturing Estaria to follow him. She was then lead into a far grander and more prestigious hall, and placed before none other than Kurt Helborg, The Reikmarshal himself.
“Ahh, Captain Zashira. I have heard your report, and the reports of others. Including the work in the mountains with our Dwarven allies during your leave, you have been a valorous and commendable asset to the Empire in this dark time” he paused for a second, and Estaria was a bit too starstruck to speak, so he carried on. “These deeds have not gone unseen, nor will they be unacknowledged. By the discussion of council and the review of you superiors, you are hereby transferred into the Altdorf Greatswords, and granted the rank of Sargent-Major, seconded under Major Tal. Your new equipment, shall be brought to the barracks that Major Tal shall guide you to”

The voice was stern, to the point, and official. He delivered his speech, and then got back to the discussion he was having with other generals about the Chaos Horde. Estaria, did not linger and instead followed Major Tal to the Greatswords barracks, still stunned all this was happening….

[LillyanaKabal]

Time blurred as she was taken to the barracks, got settled in and met her senior brothers in arms. This barracks was better than her house, and was more akin to some middle-class house than a barracks. Fine dining room - not a mess hall like most, for Greatswords did not make a mess - quality bedding, additional rooms to meet and play with your brothers. While they were still soldiers and the cards and dice were found, Estaria could also see more intricate games of chess, checkers and the like. Truly, these Greatswordsmen were a cut above the rest. She felt awkward among them, and so retreated early to her bed, rising early and heading over to the Master Smith who had been working on her blade and armour.


Dwarf-forged Full Plate was too expensive, too time-consuming to be made on order for each individual Greatsword. And so suits were on hand, and adjusted to the height and girth of new recruits. Estaria, looked over the greatsword and instantly knew that despite the reputation attached to it, it was inferior to her blade. Which was to be expected, Orange was the highest rank she had seen in the shop, and damned expensive to boot. Half a million thrones, in real world money.
“How many swords could you make with half a million thrones?” Estaria casually asked. The Master Smith laughed a deep - all Dwarves were deep, but this one was deep even for a dwarf - laugh and looked up.
“You have a hidden tunnel into the bank of Altdorf? I could make ten thousand swords of the purest steel out of that. Fit to impress a Karak Dwarf, even!” The Master Dwarf looked up, and shook his head. Such an amount was absurd.
“It’s about the market price for this” she said, drawing Ulric’s Fang and showing it to him. The Dwarf looked amazed, and studied it intimately for many moments.
“That would be selling it shortly. I would not put a price on this, it would be like buying a Runefang” The Dwarf then looked to the greatsword he was forging, and shook his head. “Ack, and this pile of scrap is no use in comparison!” The Dwarf took up his hammer in anger, as if to bash it to pieces and restart his work from scratch.


“Don’t, worry about that” Estaria said, the first word coming out quick, and the rest following after a short delay. “Greatsword is mostly ceremonial. And if you truly want to make a Greatsword comparable to this sword, then I shall finance you. Gather the price of everything you need, and I’ll gift you the coin” she told him, before walking up to the Full Plate. “Assuming that takes you more than an hour, how does this work? I’ve never had armour so fine”


The Dwarf was stunned at Estaria’s claim. Even a quick thought would have a blade like that cost him thousands of Crowns and years of work. Still, he focused on what he knew, and showed Estaria the intricacies of her armour. It was quite the chore to get in, one did not have a giant suit of metal without some difficulties in utilizing it. Once in, she got a popup.


Heavy Armour reduces Agility by 20 when worn


Not entirely surprising, it was very heavy after all - between the metal and the internal padding to reduce the impact of the metal - and the rivets, while giving some flexibility, lacked the true dynamics of movement. One could move well in it in any given situation, but to wear it for more than a few minutes to show off that range of movement would truly begin to tax. Testing how everything went, rolling shoulders and bending knees, then finishing up with a few swings, Estaria nodded to the Master Dwarf, and picked up the Greatsword, putting it in her sheath.
“Thank you for the work, Master Dwarf. I shall be in the barracks when not on duty, so come to me with the list when you have made it” she then tapped her head, and left his place. Her duty, such as it was right now, was to be Major Tal’s bodyguard. Greatswords were not always designated to guard Elector Counts, most of the time they would guard those of other important positions as well. And being a Sargent-Major, she would lead a large Regiment when the time came to lead it.


However, while she thought it might be boring to stand around and do nothing but watch him paperwork all day, she was quickly given something to latch on, as he was discussing a recent report with another when she entered.
“Ahh, Zashira. Good. I was just talking to Captain Holl about this report. Apparently a small Chaos Band has breached the defenses and are pillaging the countryside around Marienburg. Usually we would just sort this out among ourselves, as you are still technically on leave, but there is a name that correlates with yours. The reports claim that the boss of this group proclaims himself to be Zarh, Skull-grabber of Khorne”


That name. Estaria’s eyes widened and she took a deep breath, her hand sliding to stroke the hilt of her blade as if she wanted to slay the very words used to speak it.
“I shall lead the men in defense of Marienburg and rid the Empire of this threat to it’s prosperity” She spoke orderly, but her eyes were alight with the prospect of revenge.

[LillyanaKabal]

Zarh...Estaria was many, many times stronger than her last time she had met him, but Zarh had had many moons to gain Khorne’s favour and mutate new gifts, plus she didn’t even broach the surface of his skill when they last fought. She would need to prepare. Being dismissed by her Major, she returned to the barracks and began. First, she opened her inventory, and sold off all the crap she had picked up in the Underway. Alchemical reagents didn’t sell automatically, as she could have been an alchemist, or could know a player who was. Still, she just needed the money right now, and so everything got hawked and Estaria was 10,000 pieces richer. Her Halflings really did help with looting, as they carved open every Skaven and took it’s gal-bladder.

Second, she spent her many medals from the Karak training on potions. Buying one “Greater Potion” of each stat - excluding the two duds - drained her medals to 0 and sold out all the potions. Not just the Greater, but the standard and lesser as well. Downing each of them, she tried not to grimace at the conflicting tastes that would drive her pallet into a frenzy. She needed all the firepower she could get right now.

50 Luck: Lucky Glance - an attack that causes your Luck to deplete will not roll over onto your health

Dismissing that box as soon as it was read, she then explored a new tab she hadn’t really bothered with so far. It popped up after her Greatsword Job, but never really interested her enough to go get into it. Now, however, she was interested. Opening the “Workshop” tab, she examined it, and found it was a thing for upgrading equipment. Even giving them magical properties, but she needed the items or a hell of a lot of money for that. A simple Yellow Enchantment was 30,000 without the needed item. Chucking in her Greatsword to the slot, she hit the upgrade, and turned it from White to Yellow. Then upgrade again from Yellow to Green. And then finally from Green to Purple. The next step required a special item to take it to Orange, but she didn’t have that item, so just had to live with it being a Purple. The first upgrade was 5,000, the second 10,000 and the third 15,000. With it now being a Purple, it now had a higher base damage than Ulric’s Fang, and equal Armour Penetration, and a trait called “Razor’s Edge” that could cause Bleeding. Lacked any magical effect though, and was slower.

Next expenditure was her armour, which went up to Purple. However, unlike the Greatsword, which simply got Razor’s Edge, Estaria was given a choice on which trait she wanted on her armour. “Agile” or “Twin-Layer”. Agile would reduce the agility mallus down to 10, and Twin-Layer would instead add more armour. She had enough agility to overcome the -20 and so gave it Twin-Layer. She was kind of irate at herself that she had never come here before. Though it was a new addition, she could definitely have used it against the Abomination. Probably would have been a waste though, since she lost her sword and traded the armour in for this plate.

She wanted to get her two pistols up as well, but she was having money troubles, and that wasn’t good. She could fix them though, and between confidence in her new gear and a burning desire for revenge, Estaria got herself a B-rank dungeon key and entered, clearing the area of all the mobs for best rewards before heading into the dungeon room itself.
“Oi, Wazzic? O’s dat git?” The Warboss asked, pointing at Estaria.
“I dunno Bozz, S-” Wazzic was cut off with a bullet to the eyeball, and then Estaria summoned her handgunners to unload a volley on the Warboss. Blackpowder weapons were great for doing damage to luck, and while there was little health damage done, she could dismiss the handgunners - would only get in the way during close combat - and summon the Greatswords. Finally, giving them the buff, she charged off with them and the Warboss fell pretty quickly to the combined arms. What could get a girl more courage than cleaning a B-rank dungeon like it was a D-rank?

Total Obliteration - 35000+10000 gold earned. Bozz’ ‘ead looted

The dungeon was over, and that was a very tidy sum to get for an hour’s work. Slightly overleveled for that dungeon though, so the experience gains were not that great. With mechanical efficiency and a fiercely focused mind, Estaria opened the inventory and looked at the new item, Bozz’ ‘ead. It could be sold, or traded for an “Orc Box”. So she got an Orc Box, and the random spin gave her a shiny new pistol called “Brain Paster”. The name made Estaria chuckle to herself, and then she went back to the workshop. Troll-Drenger was already Green, so it was 15,000 to get that up to “Giant-Drenger” and gain the “Two Barrels” trait, which was pretty self-explanatory really. Brain Paster was a Yellow, so 25,000 and the “Long Barrel” trait, for more damage and accuracy. Finally, jittering with nervous energy, Estaria checked and double-checked her equipment, before finally pacing till the morning came and going out to meet the men gathered for her.

100 Veteran Swordsmen, and twenty Handgunners were gathered for her to go up to Marienburg and end Zarh’s reign. She tried not to worry about it so much, she had just taken out a Warboss without much trouble. Giving the order to move out, Estaria got on the road and set a firm pace, so they reached where they were going in short order. And there, in front of her, was Zarh and his men, butchering and raiding, and then, spotting Estaria and turning to her.
“I am Zarh! Skull-gra….wait, didn’t I kill you once?” He asked, gripping his gore-slick axe tightly. It was here that Estaria knew where her fears were coming from. A little thing about his head that made this whole fight so much more than simply killing a guy that had once killed her.

Zarh Ubertrim - Level 36 Skull-Grabber of Khorne

[LillyanaKabal]

He’d killed her, and many more besides. So letting out a scream that counted enough to activate her buff, and with the vague recollection of something about a plan, Estaria rushed in with her men, her greatsword held tight in her hands. Zarh barked some order in an unknown language and then his men charged against her own line. But Zarh, he stood separate, and there was a nice clear path to hm. Something he would quickly regret as Estaria picked up the pace and then, with the flucity of quicksilver, slid off to one side and raked her greatsword across his side. The shriek of metal grinding metal ripped through the air, and his armour was scored, but not punctured, and his luck damaged more than anything.
“Are we sure I am the Khornite here?” Zarh asked, his tone full of sarcastic humor.
“You killed me! I think I am justified a little anger, here” Estaria replied, pulling out Giant-Drenger and firing off both bullets. Zarh moved in his shield like a whip and both rounds bounced off it. The second volley with Quick Reload also went the same way, but that was fine because then she sheathed her pistol and rushed him again, throwing her greatsword with all the formidable strength she could possess.

Pressing hard after the inital blow, Estaria placed an armoured gauntlet on the blade and pushed, biting deep into the shield. Though it was a very thick shield, and Es couldn’t puncture it fully before being pushed off, Zarh using the shield to smash her backwards. Her armour soaked a lot of the force, so she only stumbled backwards, but it was still going to be an annoying fight if that shield didn’t go.
“Bah, you move like a Slaaneshi! This system is devaluing Chaos” Zarh exclaimed. He was, when you fought him properly, a very chatty Khornite, it seemed.
“Chaos deserves devaluing. What does it do except kill people and give them warp-boils?”

This back and forth banter was as much a fight as the actual fight, as important as blade on blade. But the actual hitting him part was important, so Estaria leapt into combat, initially going for a downward strike, but then quickly reangling to bring the force of her leap down on the same marked portion of the shield she had cut into last time. This time she took a larger chunk out of the shield, cracking it at the edges and splitting from the strike. Zarh took this opportunity to strike back while Estaria’s blade was in his shield, and the axe carved a chunk out of her luck bar, then a second as he booted her in the chest. Still, Estaria ultimately came off better, as Zarh looked to his shield and gave a vexed growl before tossing it aside, the limply hanging top half beginning to bend under its own weight, and then split apart as it hit the ground. Drawing out a second axe, the actual fight started there.

Having dealt with his shield, Estaria could now strike at the man, but his second axe did double his damage potential. The two rushed each other and Estaria’s Double Strike was deflected by the armour, while his two axes struck low and buckled the plate around her hips. Both low on Luck, neither pulled back, and Estaria even threw forward, smashing her helmeted head against Zarh’s, and then using the flat of her blade as a bludgeoning weapon to ring his helmet a second time. It was all very unorthodox fighting, and any trainer would be frothing at the mouth to see it. Zarh was not against such tactics and after recovering his balance he through his entire armoured bulk at Estaria, ramming her off her feet and barely missing an axe strike as she rolled backwards with system-given alacrity.

“Hardly the first woman I’ve had on her back!” Zarh exclaimed, standing back up and flourishing his axes.
“Is that why you are so angry? The women see the dagger you’ve got and start to laugh?” Estaria cracked a grin and then hopped up, lashing out one foot to crack against his breastplate as Zarh charged, and throw her backwards, throwing off his charging momentum and putting her well outside his grasp. There she then pushed inwards again, using all her incredible speed to blitz past him and open a hole in the armour - and the leg - that supported him. Blood spilled in an arc, and continued to leak out of the wound, her swords’ “Bleeding” effect getting to work.

“Gonna need that back, woman” Zarh exclaimed, turning to Estaria, who felt strange and sort of painful. The source of that was an axe in her side, just above the hip, where Zarh had hijacked her speed to punch through the armour and stick his axe into her side.
“It’s mine now” she replied, pulling the damn thing out. While removing a weapon wasn’t the best of plans for a wound like this, keeping it in would make it far too awkward to fight properly. Tossing the axe far enough away that it would be a struggle to reclaim, Estaria exhaled. Between nicks and glances chipping away small portions of their health, this decisive blow marked a turn-point in the battle. Zarh tossed his axe at Estaria who barely managed to deflect it, before locking blades with the greatsword of his own that he had drawn. Thicker and more viciously serrated around the edge, it was of lesser quality to Estaria’s own. But that wouldn’t stop it from killing her if she was careless.

Zarh’s brute strength was overwhelming, and pushed Estaria back towards the ground, until she managed to shift her weight and lash a Quicksilver Viper strike, sub-targetted into his groin. The reaction was immediate, and Estaria took advantage of it to get out from under his sword and regain her footing. To recap, she was bleeding, reaching exhaustion, surrounded by the enemy, facing a superior foe, and still couldn’t remember the bloody plan she had made for this whole fight. Though this was normal bleeding, as no popup came to tell her she had the Bleeding debuff. What the difference was, she couldn’t really tell you though…

Zarh recovered from his groin-stun, and his eyes flashed red, the blood flowing from his leg seeming to thicken and stop before a hellish roar erupted from him and he rushed Estaria, a berserk charge with no care but for the slaughter of one’s enemy. Estaria set herself, grasped her greatsword, and then thrust it forward, puncturing his chest plate and driving it deep into his sternum. Not, that that really stopped him as an axe punctured her helmet, sliced open her forehead, and sent her sprawling with the force of the blow. Laying on the ground, after she had finished rolling from the blow, she felt cold, weak, and pretty much like death.

Critically wounded

Ahh...so this is what a Critical Wound felt like…She felt somewhat bad about the people she had given one to now. Stubbornly, she forced herself up to her feet, and looked to Zarh, who was currently also dying of his own Critical Wound.
“Gonna….need that….back….man” Estaria gasped, fumbling for her sword and pulling it out, only to drop it and have to get it off the ground. There was no reply from Zarh, just a growl of a half-conscious man. Estaria couldn’t see out of her right eye anymore, the blood just pissing out of the wound and pouring down her face beyond her eyebrow’s ability to soak. Gritting her teeth and getting her footing back, Estaria sluggishly lurched towards Zarh. While it was a quick run for most people, for Estaria who was suffering the severe mallus of a Critical Wound, it was like wading through water.

Zarh responded to her presence with a sudden axe swing, and she felt the wind against her face as she dodged it by a hair’s breadth, and then, with a roar of zeal and passion, swung Ulric’s Fang. The blade’s stats and her “Mercy Of The Wolf” buff were sufficient to slice clean through the man’s thick neck and bisect bone. The heavy helmeted head flew off from the force of the decapitation, and thudded loudly onto the ground. Her great rival, dead.

You have won the duel
Fatigue at 100%. Activity suspended until Fatigue reaches below 50%

She could think of better places to pass out than the middle of a Khornite warband. But, her thoughts didn’t matter, she had lost her Furious Zeal ability when her stats got the Critical Wound hit. And so her heavily armoured body hit the ground with a loud crashing thud.

[LillyanaKabal]

Alright! So this is the start of the Druchii Arc. It's fanbase is very split down the middle, so I'll set a massive big super disclaimer here, where I thought people were mature enough to handle a smaller, more simple disclaimer.

The Druchii, are horrible, horrible people. And I emulated that in these following chapters. It was meant to be a showcase of character growth from both Estaria and Filnon's perspective, as they come to realize that the Naggarothi culture has poisoned everyone who lives there, and they are capable of moving beyond that with help. They just need that help. And before getting that, they are horrible, horrible people. You'd think the "Slave revolts are getting boring" scene would put people in the right mindset for what was coming, but apparently not. So be forewarned, that the next dozen or so chapters are chapters set in Naggaroth. And if that means nothing to you, then I will politely explain what it means so you get proper context and don't just knee jerk like some dumb did over on RRL.

To clarify, explicitly, in small words. The next few chapters are rated X, 18+, Trigger warning, whatever you want to call it. It is rough. But it is narratively rough. It is within the setting rough. Just so you know.

[LillyanaKabal]

Stiffly, and with a groan, Estaria slowly, pushed herself up. This time she was sure she hadn’t died and reincarnated because she didn't ache this badly the last time. If she had died, then she wouldn’t be feeling like this.

Victory in the duel against an enemy faction player allows you to steal all their experience

That, was pretty amazing actually. And so she was inundated with a host of level up screens. Flicking them away, getting her three traits from the levels - she dreamed of becoming an Ironside, not leading them, so that one was beloved - one for immunity to fear which was always good, and a final one for more innate armour. Maybe next time she wouldn’t get her arse kicked so badly.

With that done, she laid back down. The floor felt like it was rolling, her neck felt stiff, and she couldn’t see properly. Not surprising since her head got brained by an angry Khornite Berserker who was also a level higher than she was. Discomfort was to be expected, she was just glad she was still alive. Unfortunately, she was doomed to be interrupted, as there was a clanking sound that woke her up, and then a laugh, like from one of those entitled Bretonnian nobles. Getting back up, she could see a woman holding a lantern and a baton, which was making the clanking sound on what appeared to be prison bars.

“Level 50 now? Well, that is beautiful. You are going to be so popular in the arena~” the woman spoke with a soft, beautiful voice. And her body….it was impossibly beautiful. Pale, to the point of being white, and with such a skin tone, the raven black hair was all the more striking. She had soft muscular that seamlessly folded itself into her otherworldly elegance. As she slowly paced to the end of the bars, Estaria felt almost entranced by the fluid motion in which she walked, not merely one step following another, but as if water had been given form. This whole appearance distracted Estaria rather perfectly from the fact that she was in a prison cell, and wearing nothing more than a ragged sack-dress besides. “Was right to put that little collar on your neck though” she opened the door with a set of keys and walked in, leaving the door wide open in a show of hubris.

Estaria fought, and finally regained control of her head to get over the wondrous appearance, and looked properly. This woman had a hover over her head, telling Estaria that this too, was no ordinary woman.

Filnon Nightfury - Level 30 Dancer of Khaine

Her head probably back on, Estaria realized this woman in front of her was one of the storied Druchii, the Dark Elves which plundered and pillaged the sea ways. What was she doing though? Their levels were so far apart Estaria would snap her like a twig. And in fact, was exactly what she intended to do when the elf-woman came closer.
“I bet you are having a heavy full of nasty little thoughts, hmm? Well, don’t worry, that collar of yours is not just for show” Filnon then finished approaching Estaria and crouched down, straddling the woman and planting a kiss on her lips. Estaria tried to move and found herself suddenly wracked with the most pain she had ever felt in her life, her whole body tense and stiff with it’s paralyzing scale. The elf finished her kissing at a leisurely pace, and then stroked Estaria’s cheek, as enamoured by the pain Estaria was in,as she was with her body itself. “Such a messy crop of red hair. We will have to style this properly when I get back. Though the rest of you~” hands went down, stroking and teasing Estaria’s body. Her firm muscles,her amply sized chest, the soft, hairless legs. “Surprising, this one. Most of the slaves we get don’t really have much in the way of vanity. And yet you do? I am going to have so much fun with you~” the words had some terrifying repercussions. Like this pain, and humiliation, was only the start

[LillyanaKabal]

So yea.I've been working on this for five months now. Dastardly quick compared to my other work. Guess that is what insperation does to you. But, Druchii arc was a bloody mess, I lost a lot of people with that one, and the passion bled out of it entirely by chapter 36. While I managed to recover some, there just wasn't enough for me to really fufill the goals. I wanted a cool Skaven arc after the Empire arc, and they were perfectly placed for it with Miragliano's proximity to Skavenblight and all. I also wanted the Vampire Arc to be more, but the oppitunity presented itself and I had not the drive left to fight it off, so we ended it with an epic brawl.
Druchii Arc was a good window in people, and a good reminder not to stay in one place and get all your interaction understandings from them. I am kind of crazy on that front when it comes to knowing what people want, even if they do tell me outright.
This work has, for the past five months, been my core focus. Hell, my only focus. And so, without the real push to do more with it, I wanted to get it ended with an ending rather than dropping it, so I could focus on new stuff. And hopefully, new stuff that people will enjoy.

[LillyanaKabal]

With all her earthly concerns sorted, Estaria returned to Naggarond, and took her position with Filnon. Having less than 5% of the population left, The Empire was a deadlands for a few years. But eventually, colonists of all races flocked to it. The Wood Elves took over the forests, cleansed of Beastmen by the undead. The Dwarves and Humans took the lowlands, and more exotic races were splattered about the place, definite colonies sparse, most taking to the cities already made. The Empire - Now the Union Of The Living, to further spite the Vampires - became the greatest melding pot of culture in the World, with even Orc mercenaries being granted some land for services rendered in the Sylvanian War. Loud, Barbaric and Warlike, these Orcs were not savage like their cousins, and gained wealth through the many wars still to fight.

Estaria herself, joined with every raid that Filnon took part in, which was most of them. The Orcs and the Skaven had taken massive damage from the Undead Hordes, but many campaigns were held to ensure they remained in their weakened state. Filnon and Estaria’s beautiful dance of death carved through the Last Great Wargh, crushing the main battle line with a great tide of boiling blood and beheading a giant Orc by the name of Grimgore Ironhide. Thus ended the Orcs incursions out of the Badlands for over fifty years. Though, time is an enemy none can overcome, and as it passed, Estaria grew older, and older. The tales of the Wolf-Rider and her Queen Of Catastrophe wife spread across the Old World and eventually the New. The Druchii’s new reputation as exceptional mercenaries went with it, and the culture changed over the decades. Old Dreadlords died in battle or through poorly fated rebellions against the new Witch-Queen, and were replaced by New Dreadlords. Though, everything comes to an end eventually, and a hundred years after Estaria’s climatic battle with Vlad, she received news from The Empire.

A new man out of the Chaos Wastes, Zariel Montoya, had finally bested Archeon, The Raving Madman Of The Wastes. From here, he took the man’s equipment, and lead a new attack on Empire lands as the fifth Everchosen. The now ancient matron of blood was gearing up to go, when Filnon arrived in her room.
“You can’t go. You are too old, you’ll never survive a fight like that” her voice had a keening edge of desperation to it, but the gnarled Estaria simply rose a wrinkled hand and gave a smile.
“The Daughter of Khaine was never going to die in bed, Filnon. She must die in blood and fury” Estaria wiped the tears from Filnon’s cheek, and looked to Bloodwolf. His fur was far more gray than red these days, and he moved with none of the grace he once had. But then, neither did Estaria.”I am far older than any human has the right to be, and my body is just aches and difficulties trapped in the memories of days where I moved like lightning and struck with the force of thunder” Estaria spoke, and then headed for the door.

“Then I come with you” Filnon spoke, not so much a suggestion as an order with the forceful power of a Queen behind it. There was no stopping that tone, and so the Druchii navy set sail. Meeting the Everchosen in battle was the glorious end that Estaria thought it would be, and a fitting end to her life. Though her stats were low in relation to what they had been at her peak, she still showed why she was to be feared, still earned the reputation of The Wolf Rider one last time, before she fell to the ground, and did not rise, heralded by one final box in her sight.


You have died:

Estaria Nightfury. Elector Countess of Estaland, Daughter of Khaine.

Final level - 201
Final stats;
Strength: 200
Stamina: 200
Constitution: 200
Dexterity: 200
Agility: 200
Precision: 200
Intelligence: 200
Wisdom: 200
Luck: 200

Leaderboard scoring: 1st.

Reincarnate? Y/N