Two Burrows and Badgers games, 'The Well' and 'Attack the Camp' vs Mort.

 Berry Town The Shrew nervously looked round the bar, he huddled into his cloak despite the warmth of the fire and the greater warmth of the company, he was not feeling that happy.. His life as a slave had been hard, and this level of comfort felt strange. Around him, at a large table, on various mismatched chairs and stools that brought them all up to the same height, almost as equals, sat his new gang. The scars across his faced itched, his new Otter mistress had tried to heal him even before herself, but it had been to no effect.

He took a careful drink from his beer, guarding it jealously. He had been well fed and dined in his new position, and the last few days had certainly been different, but he did not know whether this would be his last 'treat' before being returned to the heavy labour and beatings he had been bred into. Over the past week, they had been guarding a well in a small village when they had been set upon by a gang hired to move them on. Maybe guarding was the wrong description, extorting was better, and Berry was not sure whether he was comfortable with that, thirst was a horrid thing. In fact, several of the gang had raised eye-whiskers at the idea, but there was a nearby comfortable inn to stay in, so these thoughts had not lingered long. Squeaker the Mouse and Snappy Squirrel rangers had been left on guard that night and the rest of the gang had bedded down in comfort in the inn. He was even allowed to stay on a matteress in his own room!

 

Maybe it was the full tummy, or maybe the comfy bed in his own room, that made him sleep so badly, but in the pale light of the pre-dawn, he had been roused by the shouting outside and had rushed out to face down so see the sight of the well armed gang approaching. This gang was later described to him as his gang's usual nemisis, and they had a pretty chequered past of encounters judging by the other's descriptions!

 A ferret, that the others called 'Her Ladyship', had moved forwards. Berry decided his only options were to run or to charge. Something told him his new loyaltities were needed, so charge it was! Unfortunately, she parried him easily, but the noise woke others.

 

 

However, the other gang had split their ranks, and lightning had crackled through the air and arrows flew hitting Squeaker the mouse, who went down, bleeding heavily! Snappy froze and blended into the background, facing three heavily armed opponents, Berry could understand that.

The others slowly woke up and drifted into the scrap, Bowie and L'Ouseux taking on the other gangs heavy hitters, later explained to him as Big Yin, their boss, and Bovva, a thug. L'Ouseux gracefully deflected many blows with his shield (something that the others explained was not unexpected and maybs seen as a bit show-offy).

 

Snappy revealed himself to try to take on The Little Yin, and from his sleeping quarters in the rafters, where he had dozed the longest, Batty Bat swooped down on a mouse ranger sulking by the well.

 

 

Batty had explained he was not great during daylight, but someone was high pitched enough with their shouts to wake him (Berry suspected that was himself). Anyway, his bat-blade dripping with mortal poison, had caused the poor mouse many deep lacerations.

 

  Berry had fought just long enough to see his new Mistress 'L'Otter cure Bowie's many wounds, before he was sliced across the face and rendered unconscious by Her Ladyship and her axe.

And from the accounts of the others, L'Otter had been felled by lightning from the opponent's squirrel mage combined with a savage axe blow to the hand by Her Ladyship just after this!! 

Batty had rushed to the rescue of Snappy, as the Mouse ranger succumbed to his fetid wounds.

But it wasn't enough, the rest of the gang looked pale as they recounted how both Bowie and L'Ouseux were both floored and how they had had to give up their source of wealth at the well. Berry had woken up some time later with the Mistress standing over him, she explained kindly that his face would be permenantly and hideously disfigured from now, and he was not sure his hand would ever recover.

The gang had been downhearted at this brutal result, they were not good a head-to-head fighting against such brutal oppenents, and that is why Berry had been picked to help, and after only barely making enough pennies to feed themselves that day, with many gang members picking up injuries, their fires in their souls was raised. The other gang of rogues made the mistake of camping nearby, Snappy had scouted out their location in a nearby ruin (Bowie claimed that secretly he was involved with the local Postmistress and she had blurted it out), allowing the gang to attack them that very night! Also, the rumour was that the Mouse Ranger in the other party had nearly been slain outright by Batty's poison, and only their squirrel mage curing him had stopped it being permanantly fatal, so he was tucked up in an inn, having to miss this fight as he was too weak to engage.

 Hopefully, this would mean no shooting at them on the way, and a better chance of releaving them of some possesions too!

Snappy, Squeaker and L'Otter had all set up in defensive positions where they had clear lines of sight into the ruins, while Bowie and Berry had lines of approach that would see them in the open for only a short while. However, their advantage was that Batty and L'Ouseux could both drop into the ruins to engage the enimies before they had time to scramble for their equipment or cast nasty spells at the exposed attackers! 

 

An early and well-aimed lightning bolt from his new mistress had been their signal to attack, the Big Yin was seen smouldering for a good while after that! Batty and Berry teamed up to take down the enemy mage, after the Bat had used a vial of poison on her, but Berry's face had so shocked and appauled her she was distracted and the Shrew's blade had rendered her unconscious, downing her! Bowie had leaped the barricades and engaged the singed Big Yin, while on his own, L'Ouseux held off three of the other gang, his shield ringing out time and again as Her Ladyship's axe andLittle Yin's sword rained down, but it kept Bovver from reaching his equipment and causing more hurt!


With the enemy mage down, L'Otter had changed her chanting, and suddenly Bowie was a blur of attacks on Big Yin. The other explained that The Mistress knew a great many spells, and that was probably why she had been late to the first fight as her spellbook took an awful lot of upkeep. The Mistress had smiled and shrugged and muttered something about needing beauty sleep. Anyway, this new spell was 'Haste' allowing Bowie to fight twice as quick and cause many wounds on the Big Yin, especially as Big Yin's armour was no match for Bowie's master strokes.

L'Ouseux was taking hit after hit, but holding his ground, which allowed Batty to drop in behind Big Yin and try to help. Berry struggled to climb the pile of equipment left in his way, he was able to see Bowie plunge his sword into the Big Yin, and the enemy leader crumpled down! This was to much for the enemy fighters, who abandoned their camp, and fled into the night, taunted by a blood drenched sparrow and followed by a bat throwing knives! Berry had carefully counted up the treasures they had found, and dilligently handed them over to his Mistress, who had even given him back a share. He knew if he kept saving, maybe, just maybe, he could buy his freedom.
 

This was the reason for the many drinks he had been bought over the last few days he was sure of it, he had been sent out to 'wander' on his own, and he had snuck back to the village his family had been captured from. It still stood, and after meeting many distant cousins and aunts who had fated upon him, but he knew he had to return to the gang or they would all be punished. The others had been busy too, Snappy had spent the time helping a local copper mine, Squeaker had taken up guarding the well again, and Bowie had trained him and his mistress in the finer arts of swordplay to make up for their injuries. The pennies had been rolling in, and the gang was quite well off. Snappy and Batty had been spending a long time down the range practising shooting, and Squeaker had come back with a cart full of materials to add improvements to the once delapidated burrow they all shared. Batty had even 'arranged' a cut price deal on a load of new equipment. Their reputation was such that they even had a local scout give them advice on other gangs locations.
Berry looked around the table at his new masters, they weren't a bad lot he supposed, they had not beaten him yet, and the equipment they gave him was definitely was not third or fourth hand! As he pondered his strange new life, Bowie's long paw reached across the table and patted him on the shoulder. He shivered and recoiled at the thought of a cat striking him with his claws, but Bowie, through all his scars, laughed across his kind and handsome face.
"Berry, you've done us proud these last few days, taking on Her Ladyship is a brave thing indeed, she's a mighty warrior, and downing that damned squirrel mage, what a relief!" The cat passed him another drink, a short glass of red-brown liquid that almost smelled of the bleckberries he used to sneak as a child. Berry sipped it carefully, to be polite, as Bowie smiled a toothy grin.
"I did not do all of that by myself, Mistress and Batty helped, anyway, it was my duty, as your slave." The Shrew heard himself muttering from beneath his cloak.
"SLAVE!" The words rang in his ear as the others laughed at him, he knew his short time of privilages were over, shame blossomed across his face.
L'Otter leant forwards in her chair, fixing him with her deep, wise eyes, steepling her fingers of her injured hand. "My dear shrew, you are no slave. We are FREEBEASTS! (The others cheered) We hold no truck with slavery, we freed you from your master, did you not realise that?"
Bowie leaned in, his one green eye glowing yellow in the firelight, his strange blue eye shining devilish red; "You are free, you can leave any time you like kid, you can even take your gear, we don't mind, find a nice little burrow, go home to your family and ,maybe even start your own with a Mrs Berry. We don't mind! We know you went off home, and we are glad you did, but even gladder you came back, you are one of us, a Freebeast of The Well of Ashes!"
More cheering...
Snappy threw back his drink, gasped, and joined in "And you know what I learned at the mine? That your former master is returning with new slaves. He obviously was not taught enough of a lesson last time we met him, how do you fancy helping us teach him a new one now? Just by showing him your face and your sword it would certainly remind him never to sell anyone again..."

 Two fab games round at Mort's this afternoon. As is traditional, I lost the first one in a straight up fight, which my gang never really prospers at, trying out Mort's new 'Well' scenario. Mort has a gang of four hard hitters, and even with L'Ouseux's amazing saves, it was not enough. However, rolling Postmaster after the game allowed me to pick 'Attack the camp', a perfect scenario as my fliers could tie up his big hitters before they got their weapons, and my mage and archers could then snipe away before Bowie, Berry and Batty came in on focussed strikes as I knew L'Ouseux can take the damage. Having this twinned with the secondary objective of 'Invade' was no bad thing for our bank balance or experience points at all. Played perfectly into my gang's paws!