Karak Hirn, the Hornhold, a young and growing Dwarf kingdom based between Tilea and the Empire’s Southern borders which held a dominant position within the Black Mountains. Few would deny that this was the hold worst affected by the tragic war between the Dawi and the Asrai, for while its ruler King Alrik Ranulfsson ventured to join the Grudgebearer’s call to war, this mighty Karak was suddenly beset by a plague of rats carrying the standard of Clan Rictus. The hold’s defences crumbled under a torrent of warp-lightning fire, its guards were impaled upon the halberds of the Deathvermin and the mighty champion Bardin Goreksson met his fate at the hands of the Skaven chieftain and his horde of verminous underlings, marking the fall of the Hornhold and the rise of the Underhold.
But times change and with their passing they warrant new opportunities. The new High King, Belegar of Clan Angrund, is keen to establish a victory for his people after the surprise siege of the capital at Karaz-A-Karak by the Vampires of Sylvania. And so Alrik Ranulfsson set off with a combined force of veterans from his own clan and warriors gifted by the High King to reclaim his home from the rodent scum once and for all.
Three weeks of intense sieging past as the Dwarfs fought their way through the entrenched Skaven’s defences, coming closer and closer to breaching the walls of their old home with every advance.
Twitcher Snivelwhiskers, the rear member of a rattling weapons team darted away from the city walls having just seen his gunner’s head blown off by a cannon. Despite never being trusted to handle the gun himself for his inability to hold the gun steady, Twitcher had always done his best to keep the stunties out. Until today. The rat scuttled down through the cracks and crevices of the former Karak, narrowly avoiding the explosions of gyrobombers above until finally he reached the exterior of the hold’s throne room which had been placed under lockdown by the Deathvermin, the elite Stormvermin of Clan Rictus known otherwise as the “Black Death” for their undefeated legacy across all of Skavendom.
Twitcher: “I demand-see Chief Tretch!”
Deathvermin: “Tretch busy-see! Return to wall!”
Twitcher: “No-no! Wall broken! Team all dead! Dwarfs come, yes-yes they come!”
Deathvermin: “Tretch feeding time. Go away!”
A loud explosion sounded back on the surface followed by Alrik Ranulfsson yelling “Defences be down. Come, onto the breach!” as he rode into the city above his shieldbearers.
Twitcher: “But it always Tretch feeding time! Stunty things are coming. Let me in!”
The skaven’s argument was interrupted by the sudden sound of chocking inside the throne room.
Deathvermin: “Not again. Quick-quick, open the door!”
The Deathvermin and Twitcher turned to the door and proceeded to desperately pull at its lever. “Is stuck! Pull harder!” Finally, the lever budged and the vermin were able to enter the throne room. Before them sat Tretch Craventail slumped back on a throne with half its back missing, surrounded by all manner of animal carcasses, rat droppings and empty cork barrels. But the true sight was Tretch himself, grown positively rotund after months of feasting on the hold’s rations with belly fat stretching off the edges of the throne as if to rival Thrott of Clan Moulder’s girth, his eyes dyed with purple rings after many too many ales, choking on a bone after trying to ingest a goat’s leg in one. The deathvermin rushed toward their master and proceeded to beat their shields against his back in the hope of dislodging the bone requiring no less than 4 strikes before Tretch could finally spit the bone out. The self-proclaimed Rat King of the Underhold, a despicable belch of beery flatulence, took a moment to regain his senses, gargling audibly as he wiped an eye with a claw smothered in goose fat before finally turning to the rats in his domain.
“Who come disturb feeding time? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?” Tretch inquired in a shrill tone.
Deathvermin: “Dwarfs your malevolence.”
Tretch: “DWARFS???”
Deathvermin: “Stunty-things outside say this rat. They come-come break our walls.”
Tretch: “Then go make them dead-dead see!”
Twitcher: “Not possible lord! They inside already!”
“Come on men! Not far left t’ go!” the rats heard down the hallway.
Twitcher: “Too late. They coming! RUN RUN HIDE!”
But it was indeed too late to run as the door behind them suddenly blew open under a volley of blasting charges, revealing Alrik Ranulfsson on top of his shield surrounded by a unit of Ironbreakers. “Attack!” Tretch screeched from his throne…..

• Sad React: The Deathvermin advanced toward Alrik’s men with their combination of halberds, sword and shields and entered a great melee. As they did this, Tretch squeaked at Twitcher before motioning for him to ring a bell just out of reach from Tretch’s throne.

Twitcher ran over and began to sound the bell which howled loudly in turn. A rumbling came from beneath the hold as the Ironbreakers yelled “Earthquake!”
“No!” Alrik shouted back, “Reinforcements!”
Suddenly the Dwarfs heard hundreds of claws scraping through the ground below to reveal thousands of clanrat reinforcements which emerged all over the hold, some joining the Deathvermin, others blocking the exit and attacking the rest of the Dwarf army. Now with greater numbers, the Deathvermin grew in ferocity, striking wildly as they killed the Ironbreakers one by one. Alrik cut through the Skaven onslaught, slowly approaching Tretch’s throne as he did so with a thirst for vengeance in his eyes.
The Dwarf pressed on, slicing through verminous throats and tearing their armoured shells in two only to find himself surrounded as more and more Skaven appeared through the hovels in the ground and killed his company. He swung his axe from side to side trying to cut his way through only to find himself being shived over and over again by the rats which surrounded him. Finally, Alrik gave into the blood loss and fell to his death, the Deathvermin had been victorious and from here would go on to lead the many Skaven reinforcements to victory over the armies of Karak Hirn…..

• Angry React: The Deathvermin stood ready for the Dwarf charge only for Alrik to surprise them by leaping straight over the ranks of armoured units from his shield-pedestal and planting his axe straight into the lounging Rat King’s chest. The stormvermin turned round in shock to watch as their master died but the Dwarf King allowed no time for them to mourn as he immediately proceeded to hack and slash his way through their forces while his Ironbreakers clobbered them on the other end with their hammers.

Once all the Deathvermin had met their end, Alrik directed his attention to the ratling gunner who was now meekly cowering in the corner of the room, clutching his tail and dragging it across his eyes in fear, unable to escape. Twitcher begged for mercy but the Dwarfs allowed none, as an Ironbreaker walked over and smashed the rat’s skull in with his hammer…..

• Laugh React: As the Ironbreakers and their king battled the Deathvermin Tretch screeched “Stay here, I’ll get help!” before rolling off his throne into a secret tunnel originally covered by leaves and straw. The Deathvermin fought to the last rat but Twitcher realised help wouldn’t come, leading him to dive into Tretch’s shaft to escape as the Dwarfs finished the armoured vermin off and reclaimed their home.

….

• Love React: Alrik leapt from his shield and instantly planted his axe in Tretch Craventail’s chest, causing the rat to squeal in anguish before dying as his Ironbreakers took to battle themselves. As the Deathvermin engaged the Ironbreakers in battle one rat turned toward Ranulfsson in an attempt to stab him while his back was turned. However, the Skaven’s halberd failed to pierce Alrik’s gromril vest, enabling him to face the rat and shatter its jaw with a swift back-hand from his wrist brace. Alrik rejoined his troops and together they crushed the Deathvermin.

Finally Ranulfsson’s soldiers approached Twitcher, who was snivelling in a corner with his tail between his legs and his eyes leaking fluid as he squeaked “Please don’t. I can be useful! I’m only 2! I don’t wan’t to die-die!” Alrik commanded his Ironbreakers to stand down and told them to take this rat prisoner instead. Twitcher desperately thanked the Dwarf King for his mercy as he was dragged away for questioning…..

• Wow React: Tretch and Twitcher watched as Alrik and his Ironbreakers slowly broke through the ranks of Deathvermin until finally all Clan Rictus resistance had been defeated. Tretch remained seated on his throne and simply chuckled as he rolled his flesh to the side a little, revealing himself to be nowhere near as enlarged as first anticipated for he had been sitting on a Doomrocket all this time!

“Run….Run!” Alrik Ranulfsson yelled but it was all too late as Tretch dug his paws against the Clan Skryre weapon, no doubt gifted to him as payment for the Clawguards he sent to Ikkit Claw back in the day, and scratched a hole in its shell. Warpdust poured out of the weapon and ignited upon contact with the air, destroying the hold’s already crumbling infrastructure and killing everyone in it.