When his scouts brought word of the town's inadequate defences, the lord of House Vae split his army into two, the better to secure the village by stealth.
Under the leadership of his battle standard Aedan, a force of Shades, Corsairs, Dark Riders and Warriors set out to capture Grigor's Folly. Their orders were simple: Take the town by night, burn no buildings and leave no traces that Dark Elves had spirited away its inhabitants.
Their assault was intended as much to sow fear into the hearts and minds of other settlements as it was to secure their primary objective - human slaves destined for the blood-soaked meat markets of Naggaroth.
The rest of his army advanced to the rear, together with slow-moving supply wagons and his Reaper batteries.
Meanwhile, Lady Elissa had received word of the plight of Grigor's Folly. Deciding that the direct course of action - to march with all haste to the defense of the villagers - would likely be second-guessed by the cunning foe, she dispatched her bloodthirsty uncle Ivann Borislav and a small cohort to defend the village, trusting him to abandon them to their fate should the Druchii attack in force.
In the meantime, she marched the rest of her command hard into prepared positions to hit the Dark Elves while they were busy razing the town.
Yet her decision to use the hapless peasants of Grigor's Folly as bait had rankled Knight Captain Johann, commander of her bodyguard.
Secretly, he gathered to his side a hand-picked band of like-minded soldiery and set out to delay the advance of the Dark Elf army.
Battle is joined
Outnumbered twice over by the sprawling Dark Elf train, Johann led his ragtag force personally into the fray.
Johann rides to his doom. Brave man.
Irked by their temerity, the Dark Elf army surged forward to sweep the enemy aside. The bold warriors of the Empire dug in their heels for the inevitable impact.
The Dark Elf battle line. Blimey there's a lot of them!
On the eastern flank, Valkith's Cold One Knights took heavy casualties from a fusillade of Outrider fire. With a curse, they levelled their lances and charged headlong into the Empire archers, who scattered rather than meet their charge, turning the Outriders' jubilation into panicked retreat in an instant.
Sensing doubt in the foe, the knights then singled out a regiment of Ulrican men-at-arms, and were countercharged in turn by a detachment of archers. Though their aim was true, luck had deserted them and the ferocious knights were pulled down by weight of numbers.
Bum rush the knights!
Elsewhere however, Lord Valkith mounted on his slavering Manticore proved a much tougher prospect, ending the threat of the Knight Captain and his mounted bodyguard with a well-placed charge into the rear of their formation.
Valkith and Manticore go RAWR.
Despite this, Johann's company continued to harry the advancing Dark Elf battleline, cutting down the unarmoured Hag Queen Kelindra and her Witch Elf Bodyguard, and slowing the Executioners. The Dark Sorceress Alariel too felt the sting of their uncannily accurate arrows, wounding her badly enough to force her to withdraw from the battle.
Chainmail bikinis vs firing squad. Ouch.
Encircled by Dark Elves. Not good...
Enraged by the humans' refusal to yield, Valkith stormed into the Huntsmen, taking a measure of vengeance for the loss of the Witch Elves.
Revenge! Om nom nom nom
Though Johann's own company had been reduced practically to nothing, their actions had taken a serious toll on the Dark Elves' progress.
Result:
Units successfully breaking the blockade:
Valkith on Manticore
Dark Elf Spearmen
Dark Elf Crossbowmen
Harpies
Units stalled:
Kelindra Vae
Alariel
Executioners
Cold One Knights
Witch Elves
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