Tough dreary from marching the men had high spirits. Soon their imperial battlements were to be strengthened with food and elven warriors. Some of the militia who had never seen the immortal elves before stood at the river bank waiting for the white ships to flow gracefully down stream. The soldiers however, wasted no strength and moved deeper into the space forest. They lay down their spears and shields, took off their helmets and with a sigh fell to the ground. The thick canopy had been keeping the suns heat out for the best part of the day, so the dirt underfoot was wet and half frozen. The 190 men (trying to find a comfortable place to rest) spread out so far that the entire forest appeared to be littered with them.

The patrolling captains all of a sudden stood rigid with large grins stretching across their faces. Voices not of men could be heard. The elven boatmen were shouting their orders to prepare docking manoeuvres. Although the elves spoke with authority their voices soothed the hearts of the mortal Imperials.

The joyous mood was cut short when a rustling in the forest was heard. A few seconds later the sound of snapping bone was heard. One of the soldiers had left to stretch his legs. He did a lot more to his legs than stretch them. The captains saw him running towards them. As he came closer the noticed one of his boots was missing, his clothes were shredded and his leg was riddled with what appeared to be tooth marks. He slowed his pace, exhaled and raised his arm presenting his trophy.

“Sir!” he said “Look at the size of this damned rat!” His eyes were full of fear and tears.
At that moment the eleven boats drifted into vision. Their hulls were riddled with metallic stars. The boats were rocking violently and the Imperial soldiers watched in disbelief as the saw the elves being thrown overboard.

Up one of the masts climbed a scaven warrior who, in a spray of blood was blown away into the water. Captain Borwon lowered his smoking pistol, and with his deep rumbling voice summoned his troops. “ The vermin have left the sewers! So we will hunt them till death or till they scurry in fear back to the holes from where they came!”

Cool. Smoking vermin :D It seems to go from one phase to another very quicly though ;)

Very good, i liked it alot. :) Is there going to be more, because ill definately read it.

Top notch. I liked that alot. Write some more! :lol:

If the first left u hanging, this will tug on the ropes

Enjoy!


The forest floor moved in a wave of blue and white as a cities worth of trained soldiers and militia rose from their rest.

In the distance the snapping of wood could be heard among the screaming elves. This enraged the men as the prepared themselves for slaughter. Captain Ordum leapt onto his mount. The mighty horse pranced around the ranks, the sound of the galloping only just drowned out the ringing of the spearheads and the clicking of the buckles.

As the spearmen slowly waded through the mud underfoot, the riflemen weaved their way in between them, following Ordum as he rode upstream to where the Skaven were suspected to be. Ordum led them away from the river so when the meet in battle they have space to retreat, or hopefully, limit the enemies retreat options and drive them into the water. Ordum had brought them to a large clearing in the forest. The morning sun was now on their backs and the dark forest surrounded them.
The 80 men knelt with their guns loaded, ready to unleash the fury of the Empire. Their target was anything that moved in the forest in front of them.

The screaming elves were now only a few hundred paces away. The hissing vermin were close, but there was no sign of them. “Tricky little buggers” murmured some of the riflemen. Now the rest of the battalion came marching behind the kneeling gunners. They halted in a charge position.

Time was as slow as it has ever been. Silently the men stood there, waiting for the Skaven to reveal themselves. The mud was cold. The suspense was enough to make any man burst out in a flurry of rage.

From the rear of the battlements strode Borwol. He trudged all the way to the gunners, halting in their rank. He stood tall with his side to the darkness before them. His filthy face was blank and emotionless, until he erupted. His brow lowered and his mouth opened, he drew his pistol and aimed at the forest, “Shoot something!”

If his voice didn’t shake the trees the volley certainly did. Flames and lead spewed forth from the rifles. The flash illuminated the dark forest. Hundreds of indistinguishable silhouettes appeared in front of them.

A cloud of smoke now lay in front of the soldiers, and hazy figures could be seen moving towards them.

georgeous writing there rob. I like it. Keep it up you have everyone hanging on your story so dont stop now. :D

This is Great stuff dude! The second bit will now be added to my site. ;)

At long last blood is spilled. :o

The men stood anxiously as the shapes darkened and came ever closer. One by one the vermin drew closer as the warriors hate for them brewed inside their stout hearts. The stench from the mud and the smoke and the Skaven nearly brought the men to tears.

The fight soon to come would not be as easy as one might think. Size was of little to no advantage with the giant rats. Their intimidating presence alone was enough to win the fight before swords were even drawn. From the dense fog that now shrouded the gunners, a small, wicked little black snout appeared. Its nose twitched violently. Slowly moving forward it revealed its red, evil eyes that almost shouted out their resent for human life. The Imperial ranks gazed in horror as more of the disease ridden rodents waddled from their fog shield.

“Pests!” yelled one of the militia, “Bloody pests! Kill the lot of em!”

With a deafening roar the fuming ranks left their positions and surged forward in a frenzy of wild eyed brutes. Spears held forward, the raging warriors skewered many of the vile beasts. A mighty high was felt each time a bold, burly man swung his heavy shield sending a rat flying, only to be brought back down to reality as a young man was eaten alive by the vermin before his companions eyes.

The hordes of Skaven did not weaken. Their numbers decreased rapidly but there were plenty more to finish of the battle tired Imperials.
Letting their emotions get to them was the first mistake the men made. When battle commenced they were furious and wished to see the vermin all dead, but now they wished for them to suffer. One young soldier was locked in mortal combat againd two of the cloaked rodents. His red blood stained his uniform as the cunning pests stabbed him in any chance they got. He swung his spear around knocking one of his opponents to the ground. The other stepped back, bore its filthy teeth and hissed with contempt at the soldier. In an eruption of rage he thrust his spear straight between the Skaven’s upper and lower jaw. From the back of its head flew blood and bone as the dripping spear stuck itself in the fractured skull. With no weapon left the over confident young soldier drove the rim of his shield into the neck of the lying rodent he had previously disabled. Instead if simply snapping its neck the force behind the shield buried the rodents head in the mud. With a jerk and a push the skavens head went deeper and deeper. Its body twitched and twitched until the life had been drained from its evil body.

The foolish boy held his head high. Yes he had gained victory over two opponents, but he was without hi spear. Larger beasts emerged from the dark forest. 5 rats the size of trolls wreaked havoc on the men of the empire. The boy crouched and raised his shield, watching in horror as the enormous creature ran towards him. The giant beast raised its arm and swiped away the shield, leaving the lad defenceless. Feeling around him, the panicking soldier grasped one of the Skavens throwing stars and without aiming hurled it at the face of his new adversary. With a monstrous cry the beast cradled its wound. The star had struck its face and was embedded just inside its right eye. Raising its arm once again it brought down its claws and smashed its colossal claws straight through the boy’s chest. With a cough of blood his life ended.

Victory seemed out of reach for the men of the empire. Many had fled under the order of Borwol while he remained with a handful of trusted elite soldiers, holding off the enemy giving the others a chance to escape.

Whistling white arrows flew through the air. The vermin who did not fall scuttled back into the forest. The Giant rodents however turned and ran towards the river. Borwol watched in aw as the beast froze in their tracks. They fell backward with many white shafted arrows jutting from their furry hides.

Any suggestion would be appreciated and thought over

:D No suggestions needed this is georgeous writing. All i can say is keep it up

Nice, quite enjoyable Keep up the good work and Write you heart out :D . I want to see more!

:D yes a very good story , and i wish to read more , alot more.

Is thier annything before what you first wrote , as that is a very strange beginning for a story. ;)

This is not a book. Its just a bunch of stuff that happens. I wanted to throw the reader into a chaotic situation. :unsure: If you have a thirst for blood :P its on my menu.

:rolleyes: So Wheres the next part? :blink:

Awesome writing! You get an A+!
Go Skaven!