In the end, Bartholomeus was glad to be rid of the troublesome horse. One of his people had come across it at a village and bought it because he felt a hint of Chaos in the animal. There was a whole story about how a Witch-Hunter had also heard of the animal and sought to destroy it in the name of Sigmar, Hero God of the Empire.

Eventually the horse was safely brought to the hidden harbour where it had caused multiple accidents and was an overall pain. In the end,  the animal’s bad temper could only be subdued with drugs and a lazy stablehand had then neglected to keep the horse sedated properly which led to the outbreak.

After the horse woke up from its forced time-out, it started affectionately rubbing its head on Erik. It turned out to be a mare and its Chaos nature had driven it to only give in to something stronger than her, which Erik had proven to be.

Erik could now softly rub it all over and even carelessly touch its ears without risk of getting bitten, but if anyone else came close the horse would immediately flare up and show its true temper.

The damage was also quite extensive, with multiple buildings and small warehouses collapsing due to broken support beams. Evidently, there had been little thought for lasting infrastructure in this hidden harbour.

After spending the next two days repairing the damage and loading everything into the Dragonship, Erik was ready to sail home.

The results of the appraisal came back as well, but it was disappointing. Most of the Lizardmen artefacts were keystones to random chambers in who knows which of the thousands of Temple Cities dotted around Lustria.

Most likely they opened the doors to treasuries, but considering they were found with Luthor Harkon there was little chance of those still being intact. These useless keys held little more value than the materials they were made from, so Erik willingly sold them to Bartholomeus.

But some of the treasures proved more valuable. Some could generate small force-fields to protect against magic or ranged attacks. Others could send a blast of energy forward strong enough to punch through thick stone walls. And a multitude of other, small scale abilities appeared from the hoard of artefacts.

And these little gadgets held great value to Erik. Because as soon as he received the list of artefacts, a clear ~Bleep! rang out.

~Bleep! – Artefacts discovered! Origins: Old One, Slann & Skink Priest. Tzeentch, Lord of Change & Magic, shows interest in all things Magical and greatly fancies Knowledge of the Lizardmen.

Sell artefacts to GAO? -Player Erik will receive: Tzeentch Favour depending on amount and level of artefacts; additional bonuses depending on function and power of artefacts.

And after Erik experimentally sold a number of lower level artefacts and one high level one, the returns were astonishing.

Not only did he receive a large amount of Tzeentch Favour, like the System told him, the high level artefact that could supposedly be loaded with three spells by a Skink Priest unlocked a new Spell-slot for Erik as well!

And seeing as there were still hundreds of the artefacts remaining, Erik couldn’t resist the urge to laugh, startling Skadi who soon joined in the laughter as Erik told her of the unexpected bonus.

Still, Erik couldn’t take it all for himself. He had to explain to his men what the artefacts could do and had to part with a large amount of them in form of rewards.

 Regardless, Erik still kept all the high level ones secret, only telling his closest confidants about them. Some of these artefacts could be quite devastating, but since they were created by one of the greatest enemies of Chaos, the Lizardmen, they showed little interest.

Now having legal ownership over the artefacts, Erik sold most of them to the System to get his benefits while keeping some of the more practical artefacts to be used. For example the force field could protect him as he charged into a hail of bullets or the energy blast might be able to burst through obstacles.

Erik had gained a lot from this expedition as he bid farewell to Bartholomeus, agreeing to the Marienburger’s proposal to stay I touch and wishing for more fruitful transactions in the future.

It was time to go home and spend the next couple of months in the North. It was Erik’s turn to guard the settlement during the coming period and after that the first hints of Winter would arrive, concluding Erik’s first year of living in this new world.

And rather than sharing the sense of imminent boredom and frustrations of staying home with his men, Erik looked forward to this time. His first children would be born, he had to train his men and grow his Warband, prepare for the Daemon-summonings and Erik had to take some time to think long and hard about the future.

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Some months ago, at the start of the First Raid, two days sailing from Skellige, the Norscan settlement in Lustria, and one day’s march inland among the ancient ruins of a long lost Temple City.

A band of Norscans were carefully working their way through the traps and foliage covering the city. Unlike their countrymen in the north, these warriors had grown up in the humid swamps surrounding Skellige and had long foregone the fur and wool clothing. Instead they were dressed in light linen clothes that exposed little to the merciless sun and the biting insects of the jungle.

Back home in Skellige they wouldn’t be as covered up, but the Skellige Norscans had long learned the harsh lessons of the jungle. The clothes prevented the sun from scorching their backs, helped regulate their body temperature and even stopped them from sweating too much. The last one was especially important due to the scarcity of drinkable water and the risk of encountering the enormous reptilian creatures that dwelt there.

The Marauders of Skellige were not from one tribe, although it could also be said that those Norscans that had spent their entire lives here had created the ‘Skellige Tribe’. Rather, adventurers from the more amiable southern tribes had built the settlement and now a steady stream of glory hunters and wealth seekers passed through its harbour. Not just Norscans either, but people from every sea-faring realm of the Old World could be found here.

However, some time ago the Empire had created their own outpost further south, halfway between Skellige and the infamous Vampire Coast. But while both races were deadly adversaries back in the Old World, in this New World they operated with a ‘live and let live’-mentality. The jungles of Lustria were hostile enough without the need for adding another enemy.

Dinosaur-like creatures roamed the forests, Lizardmen stalked the glades and even on rare occasions there were rumours of Amazons, a human race made up entirely of warrior women, being spotted.

For the most part, the Amazons and Lizardmen cared little for the intruders. But when a treasure hunter finds an untouched, ‘forgotten’ Temple City filled with riches, things could be very different.

Although gold is universally treasured, Lustria’s heartlands were rich with the metal so they cared little if Norscans or Empire men stole it. But if they happened to find sacred artefacts, plaques or other things the Lizardmen or Amazons deemed valuable or sacred, all hell breaks loose.

A roar would shake the jungle and signify the start of a mass mobilisation from nearby settlements, creating a vast army over the course of several months as the Lustrian natives made their decisions.

The band of Norscans raiding this particular Temple City had already been here multiple times before and had always managed to walk away unscathed but with their sacks, bags and packs filled to the brim with loot.

Now, they had finally managed to open the renowned ‘Star Chamber’ at the top of one of the pyramids on the farthest outskirts, reaching into the jungle. By luck, one of them had found the key and all of them were already anticipating the wealth that lay beyond.

Slowly, screeching and grating, the massive stone doors separated to reveal the chamber beyond.

And the group of impatient Marauders were stunned at the sight before them.

There was no sea of golden treasure, no gems the size of fists or precious bones from un-killable beasts.

Instead, they found a room filled with glass containers radiating a cool, blue light as tubes and hoses ran across the ceiling and connected to these strange containers.

At first, the warriors were bemused by the strange sight, then disappointed in the lack of valuables. But when one of them approached a container, he immediately refuelled their enthusiasm.

“There are women in here! These strange coffins all have women in them and they are alive!”

Excited, the Norscans began checking each of the containers and discovered that each of the strange glass containers indeed had a woman inside, hundreds of them!

It has to be noted that Skellige is mostly an adventurers outpost with only a relatively small number of permanent settlers. This meant there were precious few women in the large settlement and all of them were already part of a family.

In short, the all-male Norscan Warbands were pent-up and horny.

Presented with hundreds of ‘sleeping’ women, they could no longer hold back. They managed to break the containers one by one, not caring that the women were all in varying stages of pregnancy, and vented their lust upon them as the women were startled awake.

And began to scream.

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Mother Samantha, High Priestess of Rigg and spiritual leader of the Amazons, was aghast as she entered the Chamber of Mothers. This place was one of the few sites dotted around Lustria where the all-women race of Amazons could safely undergo fluctuative parthenogenesis, fertilisation without the requirement of sperm.

These places were not a definite requirement, but simply provided an optimal climate for foetal development. Plenty of Amazon women underwent their pregnancies outside these rooms, but the Chambers of Mothers held a strong religious role to the Amazons of Lustria.

And this most sacred and vitally important place … had been desecrated.

Shattered glass was swept to the sides to make room on the floor where numerous lifeless bodies of her devotees lay still. Even worse, dozens of stillborn babes lay scattered around the vast chamber when their mothers, ripped from their incubation pods, had given birth prematurely or, in an act of foul brutality, the Norscans had ripped the babes from their wombs by force.

Tears streaked down the matron’s fair cheeks as she took in the sight. Unbidden, she rationally assessed the course of events that led to the tragedy.

‘They must have discovered the City right after we had our last Feast of Birth… They had many months to casually discover, loot and defile our sanctum while we thought our tribeswomen safe and left them unguarded…’

She glanced around once more, alone in the chamber. A nomadic huntress happened to pass by some days ago and saw the doors opened, which caused her to sound the alarm. Dreading what they might find inside, Mother Samantha had insisted on entering alone and she was now glad she made that decision.

She did not wish to show this brutality to any of her sisters, but she also knew she had to show it to some of them to fuel the rage and hatred they would soon need.

When Mother Samantha returned outside she was immediately questioned by her ever curious daughter, Xeyope, about the situation inside.

“Mother, what happened inside? Did a Stegadon break down the door? Or was it a swam of Cold Ones?” – Xeyope questioned her mother, but quickly stopped her questioning when she saw Samantha’s warped visage.

Not deigning to answer her youngest daughter, Mother Samantha instead addressed the group as a whole:

“Gather our people! All the tribes must send their warleaders here to witness this… insult! This defilement! This sacrilege!

We have tolerated the invaders long enough, now they have finally crossed far over our furthest bottom line! They raped the sleeping mothers! Murdered our offspring and then took those who survived the initial ordeal with them to their brethren, undoubtedly to suffer worse offense!

We will gather our people and even send word to our cold blooded, scaled neighbours for a temporary alliance. For this offense, I am willing to work even with a foul Slann, those magic toads, if it means the end for our enemies!”

Thus the call went out and whenever a new warleader arrived and saw the horror contained within the Chamber of Mothers, a new ally swore their warriors to the cause.

And while this happened deep in the jungle, the Norscans were happily enjoying their newest toys as men paid handsomely to enjoy the well-trained bodies of the tan and athletic captured Amazons.

As of yet unaware of the calamitous storm they had unleashed.