W I D O W M A K E R S
Being a journal of the Widow Makers battle company: Days 1 - 5.
War late game crisis
QT3 map seed
Veteran/Veteran/Medium/IronMan
Permanent Destruction disabled.
Hoggert’s men decimated us. With only 3 company members left, we had a decision to make, go on, or disband. To a man we voted to go on and pay holy hell back to Hoggert and his men. We vowed to start the company anew and so changed the company name to Widow Makers. It fits. We either make them of our enemies of they make them of us. This time, Hoggert made a lot of widows at our expense. Next time we meet, we will see.
Back in town we looked for replacements to our ranks. The pickings were slim in this area and we ened up only hiring Valdemar the tailor and a farmhand named Reiner. Neither one have the looks of a soldier but we need men and have little choice but to make do. We still need at least one more man and with the remaining few choices here so poor, we are marching south to Wunderstadt to see if we will have more luck there. Before we left, we sealed the contract with Treiten to bring them Hoggert’s head. Something we look forward to doing, being paid for it is just a bonus.
Alas, Wunderstadt’s recruitment pool is almost as poor as Treiten’s. At last we settled on a former thief named Torhelm who had the look of a killer about him. Unfortunately, it’s become immediately apparent that bravery in the face of danger is not his strong suit. The men are already calling him Torhelm the Craven. I dispair for our future but we go on.
With our band numbering 6, we traced Hoggert and his cutthroats to a hideout on the edge of the mountains north of Treiten. We attacked at dawn and fortunately held the high ground, negating the range of their archer and forcing them to come to us and fight uphill. We crushed them convincingly with only two light injuries. Hoggert stood alone at the end, surrounded by our men, 3 of which were not inclined to let him die easily. His head was struck from his shoulders at last by Meinolf the Knightslayer. Meinolf alone killed 3 men in the battle and has advanced his understanding of battle to where he has learned some new things.
The battle spoils were good, we picked up a falchion, shortsword, a blotched gambeson and a gambeson, as well as some supplies. We were also fortunate enough to find some amber which will sell back in town for a good price.
Flush with gold from the contract payout and sale of the amber the men are heartened and and eager for a new contract. Unfortunately there are none in Treiten so we march south to Wunderstadt again, looking for work. There we find it. A contract to stop graverobbers from desecrating a nearby grave site. The pay is quite good at 420 gold which makes me suspicious. None the less, gold is gold and we need more men and supplies.
The grave site is a good ways west of the city and we get there at sunset. We vote to attack immediately as none of us feel like camping in a graveyard. As soon as we do, it becomes clear that we are not facing moral men, but the undead.
The undead were relentless and had to be put down over and over but, in the end, they were just shambling corpses with no real battle tactics and we eventually put an end to them. Several men are wounded and Eugen who was in the very thick of the fighting took a neck wound but fought on. Their leader left us a remarkably good kettle helmet. Unfortunately, I was so eager to scribe the story of the battle and sketch some renderings of the results, that I forgot to actually pack the battle spoils and they and the Kettle helmet were lost. Something we did not discover until we returned to town. The men were shaken by my mistake and I can’t blame them. The loss of that helmet may well cost Meinolf the Knightslayer his head in a future battle. I am sick about it, but we must go on. We get Eugen’s grazed neck wound treated at the town temple. We can’t afford to have him out of action with so few men.
Four men gain valuable experience in battle and we take a while to integrate their new skills:
We are having trouble finding contracts. First we traveled south to Grafenhaven but they had nothing for us. We continued south to Esenwall and they had a contract but refused to discuss it with us. Said we had to earn the trust of their noble first. The men were dismayed but I took the opportunity to hunt for recruits and buy some food. By good fortune the town had 3 farmhands looking for mercenary work. From past experience I know that men with this background make solid soldiers so I hired the one named Steiner that was carrying a pitchfork as a weapon. Immediately it is apparent that the man has iron lungs and will be able to fight all day. A welcome addition.
Back north we go. No work anywhere. At last, in desperation, we travel all the way north to Tanndorf and there in the woodlands we find work at last. The local lord has had something stolen and he wants it back. The pay isn’t great but the thieves may carry spoils we can loot and we need gold so we accept.
We follow their tracks through the woods and into the mountains. At last we surprise them when camping and attack immediately. They are 7 as are we. An even fight.
They fortunately have no archers and must attack our defensive position due to our crossbowman Lothar’s constant fire. We keep tight formation with Steiner and his pitchfork attacking form the back rank to impale and dislodge the enemy. Soon Meinolf the Knightslayer beheads a man. Then a another dies from a spear-thrust. The tide turns, the morale of the thieves crumbles and they attempt to flee. We cut them all down.
Unfortunately, there’s not much in the way of spoils after the battle so it’s back to town to collect our 320 gold. Torhelm the Craven has managed to kill a few men and looks more experienced. He seems to have a rare aptitude for melee combat and he may pull his weight yet.
Back in town we collect our pay and the town has another contract for us. Some beast or beasts are taking the villagers one by one and they want us to hunt them down. It sounds like dire wolves to me. Not something for an ill equipped company to face. Tonight I will meet with the men to decide if we accept the contract.