“Treachery!”

That was the word that rung in Ungrim’s ears as he learnt that Grombrindal had taken Malekith, the dark elf who dared butcher his son Garagrim and call it a mercy, to seek medical attention within the icy peaks of Northern Kraka Dorden.

Such outrage, such scandal to think the elf could not only get away with killing Ironfist’s son but that some Northern tinpot lord would be treating the elf as his honoured guest. No, Slayer King would not have it. It was time to settle this grudge while he still drew breath.

Ungrim disembarked from Karak Kadrin into the under-way, marching only with some of his elite slayer guards by his side and a few cooks to keep them fed on their journey of weeks to the Northern fjords. Any more reinforcements in his company would arouse suspicion along the way.

However, at the dawn of their third week navigating those complex sets of tunnels taking them North, somewhere deep into the World’s Edge Mountains, the slayers came upon a disturbance.

They could hear the ground above them upon the surface shaking as bits of dirt began to fall from the ceiling.

…

• Sad React: Earthquake!

The surface above the Dwarfs cracked open and great tides of water began rushing in, revealing that the slayers had presently been travelling beneath a lake unbeknownst to them.

The dwarfs attempted to run for their lives but there was no use as the cascading tides poured in and smashed into the Dwarfs, sweeping them up off their feet and carrying them off down into the deepest crevices of the Karaz Ankor where none had trodden in thousands of years. For all intents and purposes Ungrim was dead, believed to have either drowned or collided with jagged rocks somewhere, far too deep down to ever be rescued.

….

(Prelude to love, angry, sad and wow react)

The ceiling above cracked open as the bloodied carcass of a bonegrinder giant came toppling down. The behemoth fell backwards, its head and shoulders leading the way down as a mad group of Norscan raiders mainly armed with javelins and axes clutched to its chest to shield themselves from the impact as the beast landed 70 feet ahead of Ungrim’s company. However, out of all these raiders there was one that caught the Slayer King’s eye. An armoured fellow clinging to the giant’s collarbone who’d been the one to shove his sword through the giant’s throat moments before.

“Wulfrik!” Ungrim bellowed as he clenched his Axe of Dargo. “Come te add me te yer kill tally?” the Dwarf king asked.

Wulfrik emerged from the giant’s husk, having yanked his sword out from its throat, and stepped forward to stand with his raiders. The Norscan looked the Dwarf over from afar, apparently disinterested by the giant’s blood that coated his ginger beard and half his face, before responding in perfect Khazalid. “As a matter of fact I had no idea you were here little thing. Still, it would seem a poor choice to waste this opportunity. That tally as you call it is a crucible designed to test men’s souls. It has been too long since I last tested it on half-formed ones though.”

….

• Angry React: The slayer king raised his axe high and charged toward the Norscan chieftain, bringing his axe down onto the Norscan’s raised shield as the other slayers followed behind to take down the raiders. Wulfrik lunged forward with his blade but Ungrim sidestepped the sword’s strike and and jammed the butt of his axe into Wulfrik’s knee before leaping round and striking the Norscan in the back with the head of his axe.

The Wanderer roared in anger before turning round to cut the Dwarf with his sword again only for the Dwarf to change his hand placement on the axe’s shaft, spinning it around to deflect the Norscan’s sword. Ungrim took his axe and aimed for the lower-right side of Wulfrik’s torso, prompting the Norscan to block low with his shield. However, just as Ungrim was about to strike, his hand placement changed once again, bringing the axe back and raising it into an upper swing. The Axe of Dargo landed in the Norscan’s forehead, parting his head in two right between the eyes as his limbs were still in a low guard position.

Once Wulfrik was confirmed dead, Ungrim and his slayers went on to push the raiders into a retreat before returning to their mission travelling to Kraka Dorden.

….

• Love React: Ungrim charged with his axe raised only for Wulfrik to counter with a smack of his shield. The smack caught the dwarf off-guard but he went in for a second strike, this time delivering minor damage to the Norsca’s sword-swinging arm before deciding to take a wide pose and tackle the Norscan to the ground, wrapping his arms around the Norscan’s thighs and butting the horns of his slayer crown where Wulfrik’s well-protected crown jewels laid.

The Norscan fell back, surprised by the Dwarf’s tackle but brought his shield over himself as the dwarf brought his axe down. The axe glanced off the shield but Ungrim took another swing. Over and over the dwarf pounded on the shield, hoping to weaken the Norscan as he absorbed blow after blow until suddenly, the shield moved to the side and Wulfrik’s sword emerged, stabbing the slayer king through the stomach.

Ungrim relented, winded but seeking resolve only for Wulfrik to rise from his sedentary position and deliver a bash of his shield to the slayer, dazing him and knocking his axe from his hands before opening his arms wide to deliver a triumphant push kick. Wulfrik’s leg raised high, struck the dwarf’s face and sent him flying. By the time Ungrim had regained his bearings, the Norscan champion was standing over him, his dominant arm pinned down by the Eternal Challenger’s boot. Wulfrik proceeded to slice the dwarf king’s throat open with his sword.

With the slayer king dead and his marauders in the ascendancy, the Norscans went ahead with their offerings to the dark gods. For Khorne Wulfrik removed Ungrim’s skull. For Tzeentch, he tore out his tongue. For Nurgle he disembowled the Slayer King’s intestines from the gash in his stomach and for Slaanesh, he plucked Ironfist’s heart out. His raiders did the same for all the slayers that had died, before moving on to do the same to the bonegrinder giant. They dined on the Bonegrinder’s brains for dinner that night.

….

• Laugh React: The Norscan and the Slayer King clashed in an almighty duel, the dwarf’s Axe of Dargo hacking through chunks of Wulfrik’s plate armour while the World Walker moved with surprising agility despite his heavy armour and delivered several quick slashes of his sword to the dwarf’s chain mail though none pierced his armour or his hide.

The dwarf found a lucky break, successfully chopping off one of the Norscan’s knee-guards and drawing blood from the skin below it, though this only encouraged the Norscan to become more savage in his attacks, landing a horizontal side-swipe of his shield to the Dwarf’s shield before striking the dwarf’s shoulder with his sword. Again it wouldn’t pierce so the Norscan decided to focus on his shield, using it as a ram to limit the Dwarf’s movements by brushing him off each time he neared. Finally, Wulfrik found his opportunity, an exposed underarm and thrust his sword out. However, it still wouldn’t pierce the dwarf’s hide, even Ungrim’s exposed points. Wulfrik used his shield to knock the slayer king off his feet, allowing him a moment to inspect his sword. It’s tip had gone blunt, its sharpness spent on the giant’s collarbone and throat.

Realising he wouldn’t be able to kill his foe, not with his damaged blade and certainly not with the weaker instruments his raiders were carrying, Wulfrik turned to his second best option. He dropped his blade, grabbed the slayer king by his mohawk and proceeded to deliver successive blows of his shield to Ungrim’s face in an effort to clobber the fight out of the dwarf which eventually succeeded once the dwarf could no longer muster the strength to stand and he was spitting up his own blood. With his foe beaten but still breathing, Wulfrik decided to take a souvenir. He paced round Ungrim’s beaten body and decided to tear the dwarf’s dragon cloak from his back after seeing how useful it had been in protecting him through their battle. Satisfied by his haul, Wulfrik gave the order for his raiders to withdraw. They ran off with Ungrim’s cloak and whatever they could quickly harvest from the bonegrinder giant’s body, leaving the remaining few slayers to tend to their injured leader. A new entry in the Dammaz Kron was born this day.

….

• Wow React: The Slayer King and the World Walker engaged in battle, trading many blows and deflecting others until everything changed once they heard a familiar rumbling coming from where Wulfrik had entered the under-way.

The Bonegrinder Giant was still alive!

The giant placed its arms on the ground to lift itself back onto its feet, tore off a chunk of its clothing that it used to patch up its wounded throat and delivered a terrifying roar as it set its sights on Wulfrik and his raiders once more. The Norscan champion swore loudly before telling Ungrim this would not be the last they saw of each other. For now however, this encounter ended with Wulfrik and his men running for their lives as a crazed bonegrinder giant pursued them into the dark paths of the under-way. Ungrim and his slayers continued their journey to Kraka Dorden.