Attack of the Undying

After being chased by the Undying to the Castle of St Kessog, we the Iron Heart Accord found ourselves under siege by the army of undead. We thought we had a large enough supply of food to sustain us until reinforcements arrived. Unfortunately, none came. Furthermore, our enemy did not have to worry about food or water - they could wait for us indefinitely. Oh, they tried a few assaults but we beat them back. After that, they seemed content to let us starve.

And it looked like their plan would work. As winter ended and spring sped on, we found our supplies dwindling. We cut our rations in half, and then in half again. We grew weak from malnutrition; we would be lucky to hold off any assaults. Then one day Brother Warren was praying in the chapel late one night. He placed a crust of bread upon the altar then went to sleep. When he awoke, he found an entire loaf where he placed the crust. He checked around but no one else went into the chapel that night. Was it a miracle? He tried it the next night, leaving a slice. In the morning their was an entire loaf. Surely St. Kessog was aiding us! That very night we placed our entire food supply in the chapel. The next morning it was overflowing with food. We were saved!

The Undying must have learned of the miracle, because they renewed their assaults upon the castle. They finally managed to destroy the gate and rushed en masse against the castle entrance.

Our warriors plugged the gap, holding off the undead with their shields. Occasionally, one of ours fell, only to have his brain eaten by the Undying. Our archers were busy thinning out their ranks, until we ran out of arrows. Then they picked up swords and joined the fray.

The numbers of undead proved to be irresistible. They stormed through our defenses, slaughtering any of our number in their way. They gained hold of the courtyard and were smashing through the doors to the keep.

Meanwhile, Brother Warren rallied the reserve in the keep. He strode to the door, the Cross of St Kessog (a holy relic of the revered saint) upon his chest. He called to his brothers-in-arms.

"Brothers!" he proclaimed, as he pointed to the relic. "St Kessog has already saved us once, providing us food in the direst of times. By this cross, he shall provide again. The battle is won, we only need to lift up our swords and chase of the foe! Who is with me?!"

The reserve cheered in unison and rushed to the door. They sallied through the doors and smashed into the Undying, hacking and slashing a path through the walking corpses. Then, an Undying blade lashed out and slashed Brother Warren across the chest, smashing the Cross of St Kessog. It split in two. There was a stunned silence - then a shock wave emanated from the broken cross. It cut down all the Undying in the courtyard. With renewed fervor, the Iron Hearts sallied from the castle, chasing down the last remnants of the assault.

However, I had to blow the horn to regroup the troops. In the distance, I could see Strifelord Ekthor rallying his forces for another attempt at the castle. Despite our momentary victory, he still had the numbers to overwhelm us. We had to be ready for a second assault.

But then we saw Ekthor turn away from us. He began to reorganize his lines, facing them in the opposite direction. Could it be? Reinforcements?

Then a bitter wind blew from beyond the lines of Undying. Icy rain and hail began to pound down upon the landscape. A frosty blast coated the trees with ice. In seconds, a chill winter had descended upon Ember Shoals. We could barely see anything, but we heard the sounds of battle. Then we could see the remnants of the Undying army fleeing from the field.

Out of a frosty haze a new army approached. They looked like shaggy white apes with blue faces. Urging them on was a tall, skeletal figure. His pinched skin was an icy bluish white. He wore a crown upon his head. He stopped, a expelled a deep breath. A blast of frigid air rushed from his mouth.

"Oh _____." one of the warriors next to me exclaimed.

"What?" I asked, scowling at his blasphemy

"Do you not know? Have you not heard the stories? If they be true, then we are as good as dead. For that appears to be the Winter King!"

 "_____!"


OOC Notes
It has been a few months but we finally got a chance to run another lore scenario. I am continuing the Holy War against the Undying, which began last year. Some notes:

• I (Rufus), Chris, and Orion played the Iron Heart Accord while Xhorja, Artemis, and Bas were the Undying.
• We played a castle battle, with the Undying trying to seize the control point and hold it for 30 seconds. The intention was to allow both sides take a turn as defenders. However, the heavens opened up and we got pummeled by rain, ending the game. I added it to the story, although in reality it wasn't icy.
• The incident with the cross is also based on an actual event. My wooden cross was broken in the midst of battle, although I did not notice it until later. I embellished the story for narrative purposes. Likewise, the Undying did break through the initial defense. Xhorja reached the control point and held it for 10 seconds before the defenders counterattacked, killed him, and drove off the rest of the undead. 
• We used Amtgard militia rules, with a couple of special scenario rules for flavor. The Undying were slow, but could eat the brains of any of their victims to gain a point of bubble armor. One member of the Iron Heart Accord had a swift heal ability.
• We did not get to the second scenario I had planned - the emergence of the Winter King. Stay tuned!