Dwarf Quest 3 - Island of Mirdorog-Naht Part 2

Battle For The Door Of Night

Combat begins with the fate of Middle Earth at stake.
The forces of Evil have set in motion their plans within plans to get Morgoth out of prison!
They must defeat Balin and use him to open the Door Of Night.

We take you now to the action...

With a bestial roar, the minotaur known as Ox-Roar the Chaos Champion of Ultimate Slaughter charges into the Dwarves.
In savage melee, the Dwarves prove their mettle.

Bugman has 3 wounds, 3 attacks and an Axe of Cleaving +1 Str and Fury +1A
His Beer Tankard regains a lost wound per turn to either Bugman or a friend in contact.
The Dwarves wisely decide to keep him in the center to tank those enemy attacks!

Balin also has 3 wounds, but has 4 attacks.

Mad Furrikson has Frenzy which gives him an extra attack but also means he has no choice but to charge enemies within charge range.

Napper Grundin has extra point of Toughness.

Guts has 2 wounds and 2 attacks.

The fight with the Minotaur is a back and forth, with the Minotaur wounding a Dwarf, and Bugmans Beer Tankard healing the wound!

In one exchange the Minotaur causes 2 wounds!  So 1 wound breaks through the Beer Aura and hurts Balin.
As the fight progresses, the Minotaur is slowly bled to death.
But at the last, the Minotaur causes 3 wounds before it collapses in a bloody furry heap.
Bugman is wounded, and the Minotaurs last attack... slays poor Napper Grundin!
Balin, grits his teeth as one of his companions from the 1st expedition to Moria falls.
Oh pot bellied Napper, we shall avenge you!

Meanwhile, King Al-Pharazon and the Melniboneans charge into the Chaos Thugs.
Al-Pharazon is a beast!  A savage whirlwind of death.

The Chaos Thugs are unfazed and run screaming and leaping over rocks and try to attack the Numenorean King from the flanks.
The Melniboneans rush in to defend Al-Pharazon!

Other Thugs head south and skirt around the tree line.
Will they circle around to flank the other side?
Or are they heading elsewhere?

Finally, Al-Pharazon has pushed his way towards the Champion of Nurgle!
Nurgle's blessing has made the Champion an extra tough nut to crack.

Turns out the Thugs from the south have doubled around and attack the Melniboneans from the rear!

For the albino Emperor! For the Dreaming City of Imrryr!

The Dwarves begin their ascent!
Climbing is an initiative test +2 where ladders are present, so of course they use the ladders!
Falling is d3 hits at Str equal to the height of the fall in inches.
So lets avoid any unnecessary scrapes and ouchies, shall we?

Lobelia must suppress an urge to use her broom and dust off the ladders!

Lobelia:  I dont think anyone has tidied up this place in centuries!

Pickles:  Im getting readings from in front and behind!  Look im telling you, there's things moving and it aint us! Tracker is off the scale, Theyre all around us!

Bugman:  Well you aint reading it right!  How long until we can expect a rescue?

Guts: 17 days? I dont want to rain on your parade, but we aint gonna last 17 hours!  Why dont you put her in charge!

Lobelia:  Why dont we build a campfire and sing a couple of songs, huh? Why don't we try that?

Guts: In space, no one can hear you scream!

Bugman:  Alright, marines!  I know we are all in strung out shape but... stay frosty!  We cant afford to let one of those bastards in here!

Dwarves:  Hoo Ahh!

Bugman and Guts stay on the 2nd level and hold off a skeleton attack.

Balin and Mad Furrikson go up on the 3rd level and encounter another group of undead.

Pickles and Lobelia sneak towards the North East objective!

Bugman:  By this Beer, we shall crush you bags of bones into dust!

Guts:  Hammer time!

Pickles was right afterall, more enemies spawn below them at the East edge.
Chaos Champs of Slaanesh!
Slaanesh the Lord of Pleasure sends his greetings and love...
Glam rock never looked so good!

Mad Furrikson smashes his way too far ahead because of his Frenzy!

Balin:  Dont get so far ahead, Mad.

Pickles:  You take it Lobelia and get out of here!  Make your way back to the Melnibonean sorcerer.

Lobelia:  Pickles you are such a gentleman!  Err.. Dwarf.

As Lobelia carries the treasure down, Bugman and Guts have cleared the level.

Bugman:  Where are the others?

Lobelia:  Pickles went to help Balin and Mad Furrikson.

Bugman:  I will go get them, we should be getting back soon!  That Elf sorcerer should have his teleport spell ready at any time!  Guts, you escort Lobelia out of here!

Guts: Aye, boss!

As Pickles turns the corner, he sees Balin.
And he hears Balin's low murmuring which he first thinks is a tender whisper.
But then he realizes Balin is crying... but its a frightening sound!

Mad Furrikson had smashed the last skeleton and captured the second objective.
He had just picked up the treasure and turned to face Balin with a smile on his face when suddenly...
He was blown apart by a magic missile of some sort.
Ghostly bird-like forms made of magic energy came screeching down from the sky and ripped through the hapless Dwarf!

High above at the third objective, Grima smiles as his spell - The Crows Feast slaughters Mad Furrikson and wounds Balin down to his last wound!

Thuringwethil:  Well done, Grima!  Good shot!  They are bound to attack us now on our high ground.  But we will pepper them with spells as they come!

Lobelia and Guts hit the ground level and see no enemies around.
Which is good for them!
But where did those 2 Slaanesh Champions go to?

Meanwhile, down at the South East corner, the Melnibonean sorcerer Yrkoon is busy readying his teleport spell.

Yrkoon:  I think I heard something, guard...  go check it out!

As the guard peeks around the corner, he sees the eager smiling faces of the Slaanesh Champions!
They have come for the ultimate sensation... pain!
Eager to cause pain, yearning to feel pain!

What can one lone guard do against such odds?

Yrkoon sends out a psychic message to all the heroes.

Yrkoon: Im still preparing my spell, but Im under assault!  Dwarves! Melniboneans! Al-Pharazon! She-Hobbit! Aid me...  Alamo, Alamo!  Everyone to the Alamo for a last stand!

Even more bad news!  5 Chaos Warriors of Khorne appear in the East!
If Al-Pharazon and his Melniboneans are still alive they wont last long with these latest foes!
These are no mere Chaos Thugs approaching... these are full blooded Chaos Warriors!

But instead of sticking around to face the followers of Khorne, Al-Pharazon and his last remaining Melnibonean finish off the Thugs and double back to make a last stand with Yrkoon.

The Chaos Champions scream in delight as they are fighting.
What freaks!  They are actually enjoying the pain of being wounded!
The Melniboneans are no stranger to perverted delights, but they are certainly outdone by the Slaaneshi.

I'm an alligator, I'm a mama-papa coming for you
I'm the space invader, I'll be a rock 'n' rollin' bitch for you
Keep your mouth shut, you're squawking like a pink monkey bird
And I'm busting up my brains for the words

Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe
Put your ray gun to my head
Press your space face close to mine, love
Freak out in a moonage daydream oh yeah

Al-Pharazon obliges them, and sends these strange Chaos worshippers to the afterlife with contented sighs.
At the end of the battle, both Slaaneshi are slain, but so too are the last Melniboneans. 
Only Al-Pharazon stands there.

Lobelia and Guts arrive to see Al-Pharazon and Yrkoon nodding to each other.

Yrkoon:  My spell is nearly ready.  Prepare to leave!

Al-Pharazon:  I hate to leave, but we must depart before we are overwhelmed.  We will come back with a full and proper army!

Lobelia:  Wait! We cant leave until Bugman and Balin and Pickles get here!  If the Pale Lady and Grima get ahold of Balin, they will unleash Morgoth!

Al-Pharazon:  We will wait for a little longer then!  But you best pray they get here soon.

Enemy spells fizzle around the Dwarves, as their natural Spell Resistance defends them against another barrage of enemy firepower...
But how long will their luck hold?

Bugman:  Wait Balin!  We must go! 

Balin:  Come with me, Bugman!  Let us slay that traitorous wizard and that vampire.

Bugman: We are both down to our last wounds, we wouldnt make it up there!

Balin: I will die trying!  Are you with me!?

Bugman: (turns to Pickles) Buddy, you take that treasure objective and head back!

Pickles:  No!  If you and Balin go, Im coming with!  In either direction, back home to Moria or up there to certain death... lets all go together!

Blood for the Blood God!
The war chant of Khorne resounds across the valley!
Fearsome visages of twisted metal and demonic horns, the Warriors of Chaos howl for blood!

Against such bestial fury, who will stand against it!?

Al-Pharazon salutes the enemy and charges them!
Against the Chaos chants, the heroes reply with their own.

Numenor!
For Melnibone!
Moria and the Blue Mountains, Forever!
For the Shire!

As battle is joined, two figures crest over a hill...
Its Balin and Bugman!
They changed their minds and have come to help!

Balin:  Vengeance can wait, Moria must come first! 

Bugman:  Let us join the attack!  For Beer and Roasted Meats!

Every die roll means life or death as nearly all the heroes are down to 1 wound.

As Pickles watches the battle rage, Yrkoon takes a wound.
Lobelia gasps, if the sorcerer dies we cant go back home!
Then Pickles remembers something... something in his pocket.
Something round and safe.
No he cannot use it here, its precious!
And the Lady of Ost-In Edhil made him promise only to use it in the direst of emergencies! (See Tales From The Beercart here:  http://mars-miniatures.blogspot.com/2016/08/tales-from-beer-cart-part-1-lost-in.html)
Pickles thinks to himself that having a ring of power (even such a minor one) carries such a burden of responsibility!
Still, its good to know they have a Plan B!

Death and Glory!  A battle that the bards will sing of for ages to come!
The song is of how Bugman the Brew Master fell in battle for the Door of Night.
And how Guts the Adventurer died beside him in that cursed island of Thangorodrim.
And lets not forget Napper Grundrin and Mad Furrikson, companions of Balin.
And finally to the Melnibonean soldiers who answered the call to action on that fateful day.
Where others would have run away, these brave few ran towards the sound of chaos and mayhem!

Lobelia and Pickles wipe away their tears as Balin sings in a low voice... an old Dwarven song of farewell.
Al-Pharazon salutes with his sword held high to the honored and glorious dead.
Yrkoon intones his teleport spell and the heroes (both dead and alive) are whisked away...

Thuringwethil:  They have escaped!  We have failed!

Grima Wormtongue:  No matter... this is just a delay.  We must find a Dwarf King somewhere. I hear they are all at Moria.  Hmm, lets wait until the Balrog softens them up first!  And remember, we only need to kidnap one little King...


~~~


Lets have a moment of silence for the honored dead and pour some Bugmans Brew upon the ground.

While I would like to express some after-battle thoughts, I will save them for the next post where we summarize the Dwarf Quest Finale with a fluff piece in Moria.


But I will say...
Yeah, I kinda wanted Morgoth to be released to show off the old school Citadel figure Im going to use for him.
Also, I didnt want so many heroes to die!
Thats how the die rolls went though, and we must honor the Dice Gods...
But what did I expect?  There were 4 Chaos Champions , 4 Chaos Warriors, 8 Chaos Thugs, a Minotaur, and 10 Skellies, not to mention the evil spellcasters blasting the heroes from up high...
The forces of good did way better than they should have, really!
Al-Pharazon was the MVP of the game.
Of course he is powerful as befits the Last King Of Numenor.
Afterall, he challenged the gods themselves!

What price was paid to delay Morgoths return?
And what sort of magical treasures were recovered?
The answers to these questions will have to wait until the next post.


Next Post:  The Heroes Return To Moria