The Huixtlan Campaign - Chapter Two - The Folly of Prince Rodrik

Previous chapters in this campaign: Chapter One

Welcome back to Tales from the Auld World! After their initial encounter last time, our Imperial and Elven jungle explorers arranged a prisoner swap, but this civilised affair is about to be rudely interrupted by the local wildlife…

The scenario is the Folly of Prince Rodrik from the 6th edition Lustria book, where a group of heroes have to fight an entire army! To escape, the Empire and High Elves will be working together for once (or at least not killing each other). The opposition is the Lost Valley of the Carnosaurs, an army list from White Dwarf consisting entirely of dinosaurs! If that wasn’t enough, from this game onwards we start using the Events and Encounters rules from the Lustria book, which add carnivorous plants, swarms of killer insects and more. So with our bag of toy dinosaurs at the ready, let’s begin…

The Battle

As the two delegations meet in the ruins for their prisoner swap, the dinosaurs emerge from the trees...

Before he even manages to escape the ruins, poor Willie is devoured by a swarm of ravenous insects!

Armed with only a loaned hand weapon, Feriath throws himself at a mighty Thunder Lizard to aid Maeven, who repays this selflessness by fleeing into the jungle and leaving Feriath to be eaten!

Von Oranje single-handedly (but notably not bare-handedly) slays a great Stegadon and makes a break for freedom.

Imperial Captain Melanie and the Elven archer Eolas exit across the river, pursued by a Carnosaur.

After the Battle

Eolas raised his bow to take another shot at the giant lizards that rampaged through the jungle towards him, but he could barely see for tears. The Elves had returned to the temple where they had fought the Humans to exchange their prisoners for the Prince, but everything had gone wrong. As soon as they set foot in it, the temple had begun to collapse, and swarms of snakes and spiders and worse had poured out of every crack. He’d seen one of the Humans dragged screaming into a yawning chasm by the writhing mass.

Elves and Humans alike had fled into the jungle, but it seemed alive with every hostile creature large and small, and plants that bit and strangled. He had seen the most terrible of all the lizards bearing down on Maeven and the Prince, seen the cowardly banner bearer’s courage fail once again and leave the Prince to the beast’s hunger, seen… He didn’t even want to think about what he had seen.

Wiping away the tears, Eolas saw the lizard that had… that the Prince had been fighting to one side, and another great beast to the other. The river was his only chance. Turning, he saw the ford where one of the Humans had crossed. He had seen a barbed vine lash out from the water and try to drag her under. The vine was still thrashing. The water was still red with blood.

But when when he heard the roaring behind him and felt the ground begin to shake, it did not take him long to make up his mind. He flew towards the river, and made one mighty bound that would carry him to the other side.

But part way across the vine wrapped round his ankle, and his leap became a fall as he pitched forward into the mud of the far bank. Even as the creeper dragged him down, he reached for his dagger and began hacking at it, and when that failed, at his own boot. It came away, and it took the vine a moment to discard it before reaching for him again. By that time he was at the top of the bank and out of its reach. Deafening splashes announced the arrival of the great lizards into the river, but by this point he had ducked into a thicket of dense undergrowth that was too narrow for them to follow.

He was safe, but what was he going to do now? With a shock, Eolas realised he was now the highest ranking member of the expedition, unless that coward Maeven came back. He needed to find his way to the rest of the Elves. But where was he going to lead them?

 

 

Van Oranje gasped as he ran, blood pumping, with a smile as wide as the Empire on his face. He must be going mad with the heat he thought but he'd slain a great lizard! And there was another one not far behind him. It was only when he reached camp his smile faded and the adrenaline wore off.

"Arise men arise!" He clamoured. With a start Gunther, one of his greatswords, leapt from his guard post. He saw the count with no sword, breeches drenched in mud and a bent helm with tattered feathers.

"Sir, are you alright? Where are the others?"

"Melanie is behind me good chap, Bart and Heimel are in the blasted jungle somewhere, and cousin Willie. Well my dear cousin has been claimed by the jungle…"

It would take a long time for Oranje to forget the sight of his cousin being dragged into that sinking temple by snakes. Almost as if to do so he kept running past Gunther and quickly mounted Petunia, who was riled by the smell of reptilian blood.

"To stations men, to action! Bring me that elf blade their prince certainly won't be needing it anymore." As his commands bellowed out men doused fires and readied weapons, in the distant jungle a carnosaur roared. After a while, captain Melanie appeared before him, her wounds hastily bandaged.

"My lord count, what are we doing? Where are we going? I've had plenty of excitement for one morning," she said.

"My dear child we must go back! I simply must have the crest of that great beast, and what's more the family colours are still in the clearing somewhere, I swear I saw that bloody elf drop them."

Like many before her, Melanie was in disbelief. It took over a minute for her mind to rally.

"Only right my lord. Men follow me I know the way! The count will fly." She shouted for all to hear, being from such a lowly house she knew better than to argue with neurotics like Von Oranje. And who knows, he might take some rest after seeing to his ego. They weren't done with the jungle yet.

 

 

Next time: The Lizardmen join the fray!