Spinning her Wrathflails, Estaria looked over the screen in front of her, detailing the men she had at her disposal. Some 3200 men stood ready for her to march, and the Garrison was 2000 men, along with the formidable artillery support. She really wanted someone to attack just so she could see Sigmar’s Fury fire and waste a while line of infantry in a single roar. But, that was really for later, because right now she had to go reclaim Dietershafen, and then from Dietershafen...you know, looking at the map, if she was going to be marching an army of men rather than being a flitting super-bug, it would be smarter to hit Salzenmund, then Dietershafen, so Salzenmund could protect her from anything coming from Shoten and Norden. The risk there, was Salzenmund was the capital of Nordland. Good place to branch out and take the heat of Middenhiem, but the enemy would probably be much bigger. Could her men handle that? She herself was a blender of epic proportions, and when supported by the men she would be able to kill a lot of people.

Plus, taking Salzenmund and Shoten would give her the famous Nordland Woodsmen, to track and scout the region for any Chaos Warriors who might try to reinforce the place. And once Nordland as a whole was under her belt, she could use the Naval ports to reclaim the Sea of Claws and get a path to Marienburg, allowing trade and troop transports up from the North without marching them halfway across the chaos-infested Empire.

“Ahh! Life was so much easier when it was just ‘Stab The Guy’!” Estaria exclaimed, leaning back on the wall and sighing deeply.

“Mmm, but you weren’t Elector Countess of Middenland then, were you? Better positions, means more stringent requirements” Filnon replied. Which, was sound logic. She commanded more than just herself, so life was not going to be easy. “A singular life is simple. But two hundred lives all together, is a complexity”

“And this sudden bout of really enlightened cool stuff is coming from…?” Estaria asked, eyes still closed, enjoying the lap of her wife.

“I need to return to Naggarand soon. The worst of the blood shedding is going to be over soon, and people are going to be either making a grab for the throne now their rivals are dead, or breaking off from Naggarand to become Princes of the Sea. And I need to be there to stop both, or the world is going to be even messier than it already is” Filnon spoke and Estaria’s heart grew heavy. It was true she needed to go, and pacifying Naggarand would not be a simple thing, so she would be gone a long time. But, that didn’t mean it was something she wanted.

“So, I am going to come with you to Salzenmund, and once you take over that city, I’ll take a ship to Naggarand and claim the Druchii” Filnon finished, stroking Estaria’s hair some. Estaria opened an eye and saw the deep, complex emotions of Filnon’s face. It was just as hard for her to do this as it was for Estaria to see her do it. So there was no time for complaint or voicing her own issues. She would just do.

“Alright. Let’s get to it” Estaria jumped up, flicked her army to follow her, made sure that there were plenty of support caravans and ladders - she didn’t have anything here to build siege - and then opened the Dogs Of War menu to bolster her forces. Free Companies were cheap but ablative fodder she didn’t need. What she wanted, was something proper. And so her eyes fell on the Marksmen of Miragliano. That company would definitely shore up her weak ranged compliment, and so she bought it. It was a great expense, 10,000 gold for 200 crossbowmen, but they were widely renowned for their skill, and should be good in the fight. She thought about getting some of Golgfag’s ogres, but she had a very strong front line, and that was not something she needed.

Arriving outside Salzenmund after a few days of marching - the size of her force kept away small reavers, and larger forces were far from Middenheim in the still contested parts of the Empire, and the Marksmen gave first-hand experience to the few that stalked them that they were cleanly in range of a crossbow bolt - Estaria hit up the siege button and prepared for the fight that was coming.

Siege of Salzenmund: Tarval Spinebreaker vs Estaria Nightfury and Filnon Nightfury. 10,000 vs 3,400

Nearly three times her own men was an issue, but with Filnon by her side, she could do this. Support was the most important thing here. Estaria was well capable of killing a lot, and with Filnon by her side, that lot came a much higher lot.

“Get in and kill the Champion, that should send the men into at least a leaderless clump” Filnon told Estaria, before channeling a great deal of the Winds and filling Salzenmund’s walls with a deep black cloud, from which screams and sickening noises of bodily mutilation came from. Not wanting to lose the momentum, Estaria send the three-ball volley of Great Cannons summon into the city’s gate and blasted them off their hinges. Giving everyone near her the buff and then charge order as the clouds dissipated and Filnon rushed into combat, her blades cloaked in a black aura, the fight began.

Filnon barreled into the men at the gate, and Estaria gave her the summons she had to support her until the main force got to the gate. And then, with great acrobatic capabilities, Estaria leapt over the forces at the gate, soaring over them and taking a few potshots with her crossbow. Not something she did in the last siege because part pride and part not wanting to trap herself in a city filled with guys who wanted to kill her. But, now she had support at her back so it wasn’t so much of a problem. She darted into the city, opened a few throats of people in her way, and then got to the inner ring. Here, the Champion had kept his Warriors in the inner ring for that decisive moment they could charge out and crush the enemy, killing the general himself.

The issue with this is that Estaria came to him right now, and his Warrior was not expecting the General to run through the city to come stab them all. An attempt to block her didn’t go well, as her blades, enhanced by Witch Dance, were sharp enough to cut through the armour of the warriors. Added in with her bleeding buffs, she left a trail of bodies on her way to the courtyard. And there, was the Champion, surrounded by his Chosen. Massive axes, viciously serrated and nearly as big as large man. They would be interesting to fight, and probably worth good exp as well.

“Your fight is with me, creature. Unless you feel so brave and strong you need to hide behind the shields of your men” Estaria’s taunting was not just for the sake of taunting, but activating a skill to make him need to fight her. And it worked, he gave the order that everyone else stood down and then ran at her, very fast for a man in some sixty kilos of metal. So Estaria counter charged and leapt into the air, her bladed heel coming out and kicking out at his chest. Between her strength and it’s luck damage on first strike feature, she took out pretty much his entire bar. Though he was huge, and his armour alone weighed more than Estaria did, so she didn’t knock him over, but did cause his charge to come to a staggering halt. Estaria then kicked him in the head and used that to pull the heel blade out of his armored breastplate and flip backwards, landing a good twenty foot from him.

She could have just pinned him to the ground with an arrow and peppered him with her bow till he died, but there was a touch of respect for Chaos Warriors after Elou’s fight. She wanted, to fight them properly. To give them a good death. Launching one flail at his head which was blocked by the shield, she pulled that back and threw a second on an arcing shot, twisting around his shield and smashing him in the helmet. She then rushed in while he stumbled, and jumped into the air, adding in a kick to his head and sending him crashing to the ground.

“You know, I don’t even know your policy on surrendering. Or….now that I think of it, our policy on you surrendering” Estaria commented, looking to the man on the ground. He was in no mood for a chat however, as he lurched up and swung his massive axe. Estaria sprung backwards, landed crouched, and then threw herself back at him, letting her chains dangle some and then breaking into a rapid spin.

The scream of steel on steel was echoed by the daemonic scream of the warp-forged armour he was wearing, but the Wrathflails carved through that and there was the squelch of flesh before the Champion spluttered his last and collapsed. She hadn’t expected the Chosen to run away after she did that, killing the Champion just spurred them on more because her head was even more valuable now. Though, the Champion was mutated beyond their abilities, so Estaria dispatched them pretty quickly, blades in throats was always a good tactic for stuff like this. And once the Command squad had been dispatched, Estaria returned to the city proper.

It was a big mess, the fighting had devolved into a hundred roving mobs of swordsmen like the latter end of Middenhiem’s siege. Some lured Norscan Berserkers into ambushes from the men on the walls, other fought in the streets. Filnon was on one of the larger towers, her booming voice leading the men. Estaria decided to follow her guidance, and with that oversight, the last of the Chaos warriors was dispatched.

Siege of Salzenmund succeeded. Casualties - Tarval Spinebreaker 8500 (1500 fled) /Estaria Nightfury and Filnon Nightfury 2700 (52 summons)

The Siege had done a serious blow to the men, but now with two capitals, things were looking up for Nordland. And down for Estaria, as Filnon decided not to draw out her departure and headed to the docks as soon as the siege was over. Estaria was there for a final kiss, and then she was gone, off in her little boat to become the Witch-Queen of Naggarand. The necessity of it did not make it weigh any lighter in her heart. This was not going to be a few weeks or a month absence. She was going to be gone, as long as she was gone. And that idea was hard.