The Ogresuns in Animosity VII - part 5

In the stygian darkness, Wyrdtoof was distracted by the devices built into the horned skull atop his staff. He was trying to plot the pirates’ course through The Snarl but it wasn't easy. But he was wrestling with the calculations to account for the seemingly random nature of the fortress’ construction, and the aggressive fungal plants that seemed to be actively making his task harder.

He turned a brass dial on the outside of the aethergage, tightened a screw on the occultimeter, re-tied two knots in the red string, loosened a knot in the blue string, and pushed three sliders to their opposite positions.

When one of the deck-hands, Doubloon Dregg, accidentally bumped into him in the dark, he was about to launch into a colourful and scathing diatribe at the unfortunate orruk. He got less than a syllable out then stopped himself - he realised the jolt of his hand had turned the Bairdmeter off ... and suddenly all the other readings made sense!

So instead of lashing out at the deck-hand, he loudly thanked him. Dregg was confused, but he managed a self-conscious, toothy grin.

Wyrdtoof strode off in an unexpected direction, shouting “Now's the turn of the tide! We make way while the sun shines.”

The Ogresuns looked at each-other for a moment, then Krashhart shrugged and followed him. The others were right behind him.

"Sun? Which it ain't shining down here mate" muttered someone near the back.

+++

Churned Earth

The Ogresuns encountered Korzek Shadowkin and his warband of Chaos Legionnaires (allied to the March of Thunder): The Thousand Hands.

They met in a vast cave network that was infused with Death Magic. The thousands of skeletons buried beneath the cracked cave floors constantly grabbed at their feet and legs.

Half a dozen Glimmerings could be seen scattered across the chamber - the Ogresuns wanted them but the Legionnaires were enacting some kind of ritual.

As Hurdygurdy rushed forward and grabbed the closes Glimmering, Wyrdtoof's sorcery blasted a Hornshield.

But the Hornshield weathered the storm of green energy and charged Wyrdtoof.

A Hornhelm and another Hornshield rushed to help their companion, and they started hitting the shaman too.

Dubloon Dregg hurried to help as Badhook duelled with a Hornhelm, but Dregg was too late.

Krashhart slammed into a Hornhelm and crushed him against the side of the skull-carved stairs, with a sickening crunch.

Fishgutz howled as bony hands raked at his boots and legs.

When Krashhart rebounded, the Legionnaire slid down the wall, leaving a trail of gore behind.

Enraged, Korzek Shadowkin took his revenge on Hurdygurdy. The Glimmering that the Warchanter carried skittered down onto the ground as he fell.

Krashhart jumped down after the dropped Glimmering.

When a Fury joined the assault or Wyrdtoof, he was surrounded and finally overwhelmed.

As Krashhart called out orders to withdraw, Dubloon Dregg also fell. Krashhart ignored his own instructions; he rampaged into the Hornshield and took them down.

+++

Opponent: Joel (AKA Redmaw, AKA rapturousrex)

Deployment: Oblique Confrontation

Victory: Final Furore

Twist: Churned Earth

Despite taking down the same number of enemy fighters as Joel did, I didn’t score a single Wrath Point so I lost the game. Joel scored 3, by rotating his focus between my fighters and remembering which battlegroup they were it (Remembering? Is this some kind of sorcery? The worst part is that we even discussed how important it was to remember, before the game!)

+++

Grand Sacrifice

Wyrdtoof and the pirates found their way downward into a gloomy section of the underground fortress. The cavern was choked with broken altars and failing wards, lightning scarred the stones and had held the aggressive flora at bay.

There, they ran into Dolgul Ebonbaffla and the Shadowsplittaz - another band of Ironjawz, who were allied to the March of Thunder. The Shadowsplittaz had spotted that the Ogresuns had Glimmerings in their packs and were clearly out to rob them.

Immediately the two shamans, Ebonbaffla and Wyrdtoof, unleashed a tide of magical power at one-another.

Hurdygurdy started singing one of his horrible shanties - his voice echoed strangely in the deep dark. Krashhart took down the nearest Shadowsplittaz Ardboy, and knocked the Glimmering from his hands.

A Trogg lumbered forward and tried to block the Ogresuns path to a Glimmering, but Badhook stole it from under his nose.

The Shadowsplittaz' megaboss hook-punched Wyrdtoof with his off-hand, span the shaman round a full 360 and made his ears ring.

The megaboss watched Wyrdtoof wobble unsteadily for a moment then pushed him over dismissively.

Krashhart and the Trogg exchanged shockingly heavy blows, until finally Krashhart fell - what had seemed like a battle of attrition was not a balanced contest. The Trogg had been healing every wound that the orruk landed on him!

Fishgutz and Docker worked together to guard Hurdygurdy - they forced the megaboss backwards, away from their Warchanter, and with a flailing-cutlass-onslaught, Docker got in a very cheap shot, and took down the monstrous boss!

+++

Opponent: Julian (AKA Jam)

Deployment: Oblique Confrontation (again!)

Victory: A Grand Sacrifice

Twist: Warning Cry

+++

The Ogresuns in Animosity VII - part 4

The Ogresuns rushed through the battleground streets of 2nd House, weaving between streets, allies, canal bridges, and piazas. Avoiding the areas of the worst fighting, sometimes making their route much longer. They made it to the Nebularch Court but diverted a little to loot a nearby stronghouse.

+++

“Don’t step on da glyphs!” Wyrdtoof screeched, flailing his staff as the pavement rippled like water, engraved spirals glowing beneath their boots. “They’re thinkin’! You step on ‘em while they’re thinkin’ and they’ll bite yer future clean off!”

Kap’n Salty Ogbad didn’t pause. He stomped across the marble plaza, both pistols barking, scattering a clutch of Wolfram Arkanauts and some unfortunate git in silver armour and blue robes who had been chanting. Somewhere above, the celestite orbs rotated slowly - shifting alignment.

All around, the battle for Nebularch Court raged - Union hammers clashed against Wolfram gunwagons, while the March’s beasts slithered between domed manors, their claws dripping gore. Salty didn’t care, not really.

He had eyes only for the vault beneath the western dome, where Wyrdtoof claimed a stash of glimmerings was locked away - enchanted trinkets that could let them rewrite the outcome of one moment.

“You said dis place was a vault, Wyrdtoof,” Salty shouted, parrying a blade of burning script. “All I see is sparklin’ rocks an’ lads arguin’ over philosophy!”

“It’s a prophecy-bank!” Wyrdtoof hissed. “All da value’s in possibilities. They deposits possible futures!”

An explosion blasted a hole in the vault door.

“Well, my future’s looting it.”

He stormed in. The others followed. Outside, stars aligned. A moment later, they unaligned.

A death-knight from Wolfram roared skyward - falling in a sudden vortex of celestial gravity. Crystals screamed. A gondola sank. And somewhere deep beneath the Nebularch Court, the vaults’ layout… shifted.

The Ogresuns were inside and, whatever came next, they’d already made a withdrawal.

The Ogresuns in Animosity VII - part 3

Wyrdtoof hobbled up the gangplank, robes smoking slightly and eyes wild.

“Kap’n! Kap’n! It worked! It worked maybe a bit too good.”

Kap'n Salty Ogbad looked up from the map, spread out atop the aft chase gun. “What’re ye on about, Wyrdtoof?”

“The feint, skipper! I lit up da celestium like a lamp in a bugstorm, all shaking and humming and sparkling. Gravehunters bit faster’n a hungry squig. Even brought that fancy coffin-walker what smells like burnt roses.”

Ogbad grunted. “So they fell for it?”

“Like a corpse off a cliff. While they were busy lurkin’ in shadows an’ arguin’ over who gets to look moodiest, or whatever it is they do, the Boltbreakerz was free and clear to scupper the train.”

Wyrdtoof hesitated. His left eye twitched.

“But… uh… they did blow up me celestium. Gone. Shattered to glitterin' stardust, with a shrieking noise what still echoes in me teeth." Then half to himself, "I reckon it hated going. Maybe it were alive. Maybe it were me friend.”

He scratched his chin with a gnarled finger. Then he was suddenly animated again:

“But seen things when it went, I did. Visions. Like maps made of stars. There’s more celestium, skipper. Bigger lumps. Ones what dream. We just gotta find 'em afore the skele-boyz do.”

Ogbad spat into the canal.

“Well,” he said, grinning, “I hope they dream o’looting and smashing stuff.”

Wyrdtoof grinned back, sparks crackling from his hair.

“Oh aye, Kap’n. They dreams of WAAAGH.”

+++

Wyrdtoof had left his celestium lantern under Krashhart's watchful eye while he went to "Have a look at them leylines, yonder."

As expected, the device drew the attention of agents from Wolfram Industries.

Krashhart recognised the Soulblight Vampire leading them, called Tempest, with a growl.

Krashhart rampaged toward him and their heavy, concussive weapons clashed.

The vampire countered the pirate's frenzied assault skilfully, but the hulking orruk overwhelmed him with sheer brute force.

Wyrdtoof and Bad Hook arrived, a little late. Wyrdtoof unleashed a blast of green lightning that took down one of the skeletons bearing a sorcerous device designed to drain the power from Realmstone. 

But a Dreadwarden swept down on the dropped artefact and dragged it to the celestium lantern.

The feedback loop overcharged the Gravehunter's artefact until both it and the celestium lantern disintegrated one-another!

The Ogresuns in Animosity VII - part 2

Dramatis Personae

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Wyrdtoof is part wild prophet, part junk-scavenger, and all pirate. Once marooned on a forgotten metalith island in the hinterlands of northern Thondia, he survived for years on raw cunning, instinct, and stubbornness. His isolation warped his already volatile mind further, deepening his connection to Gorkamorka’s brutal mysticism.

His wild mane of hair and beard dance in an unfelt wild, alive with crackles of unspent Waaagh! energy. His right leg ends in a battered wooden peg, a rough-cut replacement from his time fighting off the monstrous dead things that infest the Harrowmark - he still mutters curses about "da bleedin' grave-things what had too much teefs and not enough skin."

Wyrdtoof wears ragged blue and white striped trousers and a cloak stitched from the scaly hide of a Thondian predator. His staff is a mismatched contraption, parts of several Kharadron navigation tools under the skull of a horned beast, etched with crude glyphs and half-burned sigils, lashed together with string.

His bags bulge with scavenged relics, mostly Kharadron tech - empty aether-canisters, battered tools, broken endrin parts - all of which he claims have “proper mojo if yeh squint at ‘em right.” Some of the Ogresuns are half-convinced he’s got a working thaumaturgic compass in there, but he just grins and cackles if asked.

Wyrdtoof rejoined the Ogresuns in the Harrowmark, descending from the sky aboard the very skyship he lured with a jury-rigged aethergold beacon. Whether it was luck, fate, or the hand of Gork (or possibly Mork), he arrived just in time to fry a vampire with a blast of crackling green energy and cackle:

"Ahoy there ladz! Ya miss me?"

+++

Kaptain Salty Ogbad leads the Ogresuns. He's a Megaboss with a taste for wild adventures across the Mortal Realms. He must have been in some wild fights and perilous situations since the Harrowmark Run, to have become so massive!

The Ogresuns in Animosity VII - part 1

Prologue

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The pile of barrels, chests, trunks, strong-boxes, bags and boxes was impressive, Wyrdtoof had to admit. The last few prizes had been reasonably good: their crews had been small and the fights brief but enjoyable. The Ogresuns were in good spirits as a result.

In the dark of the Ogresuns’ hold, the small lantern hanging from the beams overhead swayed and shadows lurched.

Wyrdtoof put a gnarled hand on something to steady himself, but the deck, beneath his good foot and his pegleg, lurched and he over-balanced.

He swore loudly and creatively as he fought to regain his feet.

“What in blasted-hells is going on!?” he roared.

Fishgutz appeared, through the hatch above and slid down, boots and gnarled hands on the outside of the companion-ladder.

“Boss, there’s something going on what you should see, like.” he said nervously as he helped the shaman to his feet.

“Eh?” said Wyrdtoof, trying to recover his thoughts. But Fishgutz had already gone, running back up the ladder in a flash.

Wyrdtoof suddenly noticed the sound of the voices on deck. The mood of the ship was shifting: He could feel it in his bones.

+++

When he emerged from the hatch, into the cold night air, the light on deck was weirdly blue: an extremely unusual colour in Aqshy.

“What’s amiss?” he called in a loud voice, loud enough to cut through the noise of the crew’s excited chatter.

Kaptain Salty Ogbad looked over at him, standing by the rail on the wide quarterdeck, the megaboss towered over the rest of the crew, even the massive Brutes. He waved Wyrdtoof forward and the crew quietened down. They all wanted to hear what was about to be said; none of them even tried to hide their curiosity.

Ogbad passed his large spyglass to Wyrdtoof as the shaman hobbled forward (after he was helped up the quarterdeck stairs, by a series of grinning pirates - most of them newcomers he didn’t recognise). The shaman took the glass and pointed it in the direction Ogbad indicated with a jerk of his chin.

The deck pitched again but Ogbad grabbed Wyrdtoof’s shoulder to steady him. The source of the blue light was clear. A swirling portal hung in the air over the surface of the river a few hundred yards away. The other side of the pulsating, unstable, gateway was clearly visible through the spyglass: a wide fertile valley, a vast city in a clear blue lake, and a jagged mountain range in the distance beyond.

There was more though. It was clearly daytime in the valley on the other side, but the sky was black and strewn with uncountable stars, blazing comets, and half a dozen unnaturally colourful moons.

The ship was closing on the portal, every minute that passed reduced the distance by a dozen yards or more.

“Where d’you reckon it goes, old friend?” said Ogbad quietly.

Wyrdtoof considered in silence for a long while before he answered.

“Well. It ain’t nowhere we been afore. Not none of us.”

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https://animositycampaigns.com/campaign-setting-vii