27 Nachhexen
After a night spent huddled in the dark we marched on, following rough tunnels that ran through the heart of the mountain.
Only a few groups of greenskins opposed the relentless march of Reiklanders and Wissenlanders. None can stand against the might of the Empire united.
Furak Stonesplitter led us to Karak-Azgaraz before the end of the second day, knowing exactly which way to take.
I wonder how many such tunnels exist beneath the Grey Mountain? Diirk Thunderhammer said something about there being fewer than in the World's Edge Mountains. And also haunted by orcs and worse. This particular stretch should have been safe enough, but that was before the orc horde descended upon Karak Azgaraz.
The journey would easily have taken two or three times that long on the surface - in the summertime. In winter I'm not sure it can be done at all - the cannons and the wagons would have to be abandoned and that would turned my force into nothing more than dead men walking, rifles frozen, powder damp.
Strange. I am now closer to home than I have been for half a year. All that stands between me and my holdings is a grey wall of rock, covered in ice and snow, that reaches so high it touches the clouds. To reach human lands you must either go south to Blood Keep - a road rarely travelled anymore says the dwarfs - or north, to the Grey Lady Pass and from there to Bretonnia or Übersreik.
At long last we could see a little light in the distance and feel cold, fresh air flowing from outside. We extinguished all light and crept forward. The tunnel deposited us on a stone bridge spanning a gorge. On the other side a stout stone door of dwarf make. Not the main entrance to the dwarf city, but a lesser gate that Diirk called the Copper Door.
We made ourselves known and were let inside.
There was no time to waste. To orcs had breached the gate and broken the defenders. Even as we rushed inside, the dwarfs were being slaughtered. We fought the greenskins tooth and nail, shot and steel. We met them in pitched battle in the airy Chamber of Welcomes, killed all we could and pushed the rest out through the main gates and onto the plaza. There we slaughtered the rest, set up cannon and muskets to guard against further incursions, and started the process of rooting out whatever orcs and goblins remained within Karak Azgaraz.
We were too late to save the their King, Zaladrin Blood-beard. We found the high lord surrounded by his guards and courtiers in the High Hall of the Kings. Many columns had shattered and great slabs of rock had fallen from the roof, crushing the king and those closest to him.
When the battle was over only five hundred dwarfs of fighting age remained, maybe twice that number of women, children, and the elderly. A grievous loss for the dwarfs, but as was pointed out by their war-leader Thuringar Orc-heawer, infinitely better than total annihilation.
30 Nachhexen
We have repulsed a few orc probes as they tried to send scouts to determine the situation within the Kaer. We are entrenching and will not be moved. Inside the mountain the last greenskins have been dealt with. Groups of my men, guided by dwarfs have proven effective at the task.
The is no new king as of yet: the dwarfs must elect one from among their number. I suggested Diirk, being young, dynamic and well versed in Reikspiel, but this was immediately rejected. He's at least a century too young and also an illegitimate child.
The orcs were led by a human wizard going by the name Zul. An eye witness described him as strange looking. Sounds like a Kislevite or some such to me. He had led the orc horde to Karak Azgaraz, he had broken the gates with magic - despite their warding runes. He had gone to the king and demanded a heart-shaped red gemstone. When then king could not comply - that stone is in Halmstad's handed - he had brought down the roof and stormed off...
On war
Muskets and bayonets are relatively well suited for tunnel fighting. Smoke becomes a problem after the first volleys are fired, but as long as the tunnel is straight you don't really need to see the enemy to kill him. Just keep firing and eventually the survivors - even orcs - will either flee or run onto bayonets.
Grenades can be highly effective but care must be taken when employing them underground. I knew that from the sewers of Nuln but the lesson has been relearned many times in the past few days.
It was a resounding victory of the Empire and my tactics. My own men suffered less than ten percent casualties, the men of Nuln two or three times that, but still acceptable. We hold the battlefield and I expect many of the wounded to recover. We have brought healers and medical supplies, and we know what to do to combat the filth the orcs cover their blades with.
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