The Battle of Brietown
The vision came to Kresla the Pale suddenly and violently. When she had recovered from her fit she reported to her Lord-Infernal surprising news; Arch-Warlock John Cheese, of the Supreme Clan Mightclaw, was barracked nearby. And what was more he was relatively defenceless, accompanied only by his Acolytes and hangers-on. Traxus Oathkeeper acted quickly, gathering the True Children and moving on Brietown with full force.
When the news of the impending battle reached John Cheese he panicked, knowing that he would not hold out for long. He ran to the farsqueeker, sending out desperate threats and pleas for aid to the fearsome Clawlord Dave the Rat. Given the urgency of the situation Dave advised that he could help, but it would cost significantly extra. Even in this time of impending doom Cheese refused to be blackmailed, demanding that he pay Dave the regular rate. Dave acquiesced, agreeing that he would be there to help defend the Arch-Warlock, but making sure to emphasize that he might not be there on time.
The board was set. John Cheese gathered his close retinue to help defend his laboratory hidden amongst the ruins of Brietown, while Lord-Infernal Traxus advanced line abreast in an attempt to smash through any Skaven resistance.
John Cheese quickly rushed to the ruins holding his laboratory, demanding his Acolytes take up positions to cover his verminous magnificence. His Stormfiends took the left flank. Cheese took quick glances to the horizon, hoping to see the reinforcements of Dave the Rat approaching. However they refused to appear.
Behind John Cheese his second-in-command, the Warlock Bombardier Phillip T. Rat, crouched in some ruins, watching the battle unfold.
The Retinues of the True Children advanced with the Knights in the centre. The First and Third Retinues locked shields as a pair of Doomwheels raced towards them, suffering only minor causalities. The True Children seemed to hold the upper hand until the sound of bells and squealing rats echoed through the ruins. John Cheese's ears pricked up in delight. Dave the Rat had arrived.
The battle had now become a race as the Thrall-slayers, accompannied by Lorthur the Golden, slammed into John Cheese's bodyguard in an attempt to cut the head off the snake. Devastating blows by Lorthur saw the entire horde of Acoyltes slain, but he in turn was disintegrated by a devastating shot from a Warp Lightning Cannon. Phillip shouted to his overlord, insisting that he had been the one to take the shot.
The First Retinue charged the ruins, hoping to reach the target. Little did they expect the Warpfire Thrower team hidden away by Cheese for just such an occasion, and they were devastated by a torrent of green flames.
Try as he might however, John Cheese could not evade the hooves of the Thrall-slayers forever. With no meatshield to hide behind he eventually fell to their devastating charge.
Their objective completed, the True Children now looked towards the incoming reinforcements, refusing the budge from what they now suspected may be a hidden trove of treasure. This suited Dave the Rat just fine, who flung his clanrats against the Lord-Infernal, burying him in a tide of fur. The True Children began to waver, with Kresla the Pale making a quick escape while no one was looking.
Phillip T. Rat was quick to act, seizing control of the remaining Skaven and signaling to Dave the Rat that he would double Cheese's offer if he helped him fend off the Chaos-things. Phillip knew that Cheese kept many secrets in his labratory, and was sure that if he could secure control of it for just a single day he would find all he would need to take control of Supreme Clan Mightclaw and usurp his old, dead master.
Seeing their position now increasingly compromised the True Children began to make their retreat, Second Retinue dragging the body of Traxus alongside them. The Thrall-slayers, despite riding hard, were cut off from escape and torn apart by the reinforcing Stormvermin.
Once the dust settled Supreme Clan Mightclaw found itself in control of the field, the treasures of John Cheese's laboratory open for Phillip T. Rat to pilfer as he pleased and the True Children routed. Dave gathered up his Verminus troops, ready for the next deployment. For a moment he thought he saw a bleeding and battered rat slink off into the encroaching darkness, a rat he thought he might recongise. But he dismissed it from his mind, focusing instead on the horde of warpstone tokens pledged to him by Phillip.
The True Children had retreated in disarray, with only Second Retinue maintaining most of their original strength. It was a long trek back to their fortress of Retinhort and although they had slain a hated enemy, they knew it was only the beginning.
