Heavy fog and blistering cold hung over the rural town of Mielau in Ostermark as two warriors in the Church of Sigmar rode in, a master and his apprentice, having been summoned here by a mighty wizard.

“Ah, so this is the boy I’ve heard so much about Huss. The boy who sought to save Essen from invasion with nothing but a horse and a hammer at his side. Welcome to Mielau, Valten.”

“It is an honour to have received your request, your Excellency.” the young warrior bowed.

“It seems you’ve trained him well, Huss. I shall anticipate building on that training further in the coming months of my experiments. Now you best be returning to Altdorf or Nuln or where-ever it is you busy-bodies are stationed nowadays… and do offer my best wishes to the Emperor in regards to his recovery as well as a respectful request for him to deliver Quicksilver back to me.”

“It shall be done Patriarch. Good day to you both.” Luthor Huss replied before turning about atop his steed and riding off into the distance.

“So what is it you summoned me here for my lord?” Valten inquired.

“Tell me boy, do you know much about Mielau?” the wizard asked and the young warrior shook his head. “Well it’s a fascinating town. You see its proximity to the mountains lends it a certain vulnerability to monsters who come down here in search of food or sport, the main threat of which are a herd of dragon ogres living up there who come here whenever they wake from their slumbers. In order to anticipate their attacks I have devised an scheme that enables me to predict when their hibernation periods are set to expire and based on my records it would appear Mielau will be subject to an encounter with a Dragon Ogre Shaggoth some time within the next two days.”

“And you wish for me to help you fight it?”

“Good heavens no. If that were my intention I would have requested an artillery crew and some pikemen, there is more to warfare than swinging a hammer after all. Truth be told, I am not too concerned about the Shaggoth’s attack. Periodic terror followed by a time of mourning and restoration has been the way of life for these border-towns for centuries now. No, my intentions behind bringing you here are much greater in scope.
I intend to test a weapon here and it is you who will help me oversee it by following what it does on a ground level. Come, follow me… Also, seeing as you’re not under the tutelage of the church now I recommend you drop the pompous titles and simply refer to me as Balthasar.”

The gold wizard took Valten around the corner and to the end of a road where a dwarf engineer with orange hair, wearing goggles, with a set of pistols strapped to his chest and steel contraptions attached to his back was standing in front of a landed Thunderbarge.

“Valten meet my colleague Malakai Makaisson, Captain of the Spirit of Grungni you see before you. Don’t let his squattish shape and madcap appearance deceive you, the two of us have been working together for some time since his airship helped me to dump certain hazardous leftovers from some of my earlier experiments.” Balthasar said and Valten bowed. “How’s our project faring today Malakai?”

“Restless Gel’. We’ve ha’ te increase our sedations jus’ te get it te rest.” the dwarf engineer replied.

“A monster of its ilk behaving restlessly? Colour me surprised.” Balthasar dripped with sarcasm. “Come on boy, let me show you my weapon.”

“You keep it in there?” Valten asked as he strode with Gelt up a plank onto the airship.

“Aye, we decided that should it ever again turn hostile it would make sense to be carrying it in this thing. The beast can’t fly you see so if it wanted to kill us we could simply let it fall to its death as opposed to endangering the Empire. At least one hopes the fall would kill it.”

“Seeing as you speak of it turning hostile again, am I to take it this is some creature you captured?”

“You catch on fast, boy. But to the contrary, this weapon is here voluntarily. Ah here we go.” Balthasar exclaimed as he found the door he was looking for within the airship and unlocked its mechanism. “Valten, let me introduce you to Project Eisenblut formerly known as Skarbrand, Greater Daemon of the Blood God.”

Valten stood in shock, his mouth agape as he tried to make sense of what he saw before him. One of the world’s greatest killing machines sitting in a simple steel cage with bars it could surely tear through on a whim given its strength. “This? This is your weapon? What sorcery… Balthasar you’re holding a daemon in captivity? This is madness… Balthasar, am I going mad?”

The alchemist merely chuckled in response before replying. “Let’s see shall we? You’re a warrior prodigy born with a twin-tailed birthmark who wields the hammer of a legendary emperor during his time in recovery and you are talking to a man with a golden face inside a Dwarf airship that happens to be carrying one of the most dangerous creatures the world has ever known as its cargo. Trust me boy, madness has never been this good.” Balthasar joked.

“But the daemon, we must destroy it before it wreaks further damage… whatever bewitchment this is cannot last.”

“You are correct of course. Bloodthirsters are notoriously resistant to magic and I am aware of this. But I assure you the situation is safe. You see I have used the greatest of all magics to create the outcome you see before you, Science!
In short, last year I captured the beast when it was damaged from battle and performed a series of probing surgeries into its mind. What I found was fascinating. The mind harboured hidden memories its masters had tried to suppress. Naturally I helped it to recover those memories and this resulted in immense confusion for the daemon as it began to question its role as a ruthless killing machine. I was then able to resolve this this confusion by offering Skarbrand a new purpose.”

“To be your pet?” Valten interjected.

“Oh, I have much greater ambitions than to simply keep a daemon as a pet. What you are looking at now is the first of many daemons I intend to turn from the dark, daemons I intend to invite into Sigmar’s light.”

“Why?” Valten interrupted.

“Why? Think it through boy. Imagine a world where daemons don’t simply mean deception and cruelty but instead actively seek to better the lives of men. If I can turn this daemon there must be ways for me to turn others. That could change everything. I could save the future.” Balthasar hoped. “Unfortunately though, my superiors among some of the Elector Counts refuse to see things this way. They fear the damage Skarbrand could inflict, not only if it went rogue but simply through collateral damage if need be. This is why I called you. The Shaggoth’s attack is the perfect experiment to test whether Skarbrand can be controlled in battle.”

“The Shaggoth… oh by the gods we need to evacuate Mielau now.” Valten replied fearfully.

“Don’t be so foolish. Why would a recently woken dragon ogre attack an empty town? No, no, no. In order to simulate a true battlefield experience we must keep the residents of Mielau exactly where they are and entirely none-the-wiser.”

“You can’t use an entire town as bait, Gelt. If you send that thing to fight out there it could destroy hundreds of lives in the process.” Valten argued.

“Only a cynical man would call what these peasants have ‘lives’, boy. Crime, poverty, plague, not to mention the threat of invasion. This is not how man was supposed to live. However, my research could save countless lives. By what metric are the lives of Mielau’s residents more worthy than those of the rest of the Empire?
Besides this is where you come in. When the battle commences I shall watch from afar atop this airship with captain Makaisson while you follow the battle on the ground level. Your job will be to follow the battle and do your utmost to minimise civilian casualties but only once the fighting has begun.” Balthasar commanded.

Valten looked conflicted. He wanted to save the town now, he felt that’s what a real hero would do. Still he understood the alchemist’s logic. “Just one question. Why me?”

“For the same reason you fought those Beastmen off from your village or why you risked your life in Essen against incalculable odds. Because unlike me you still have a heart, Valten. You want to be a hero and that valour will take you where no other man would dare go. So, I suggest you make your decision, boy. You have until the attack dawns to decide. Just know that if you refuse the offer there won’t be anyone who takes your place. Now, you’ve had a long journey. I recommend you go get some rest. There’s an inn three roads from here, just remember you have a decision to make.” Balthasar suggested.

Valten took one final glance at the caged monstrosity on deck, fearing both what it could do to the town and to him, before following Gelt’s suggestion and leaving the barge to find a room in the town’s inn.

---

Over the next day and half Valten kept his distance from Gelt and the airship. He mingled with the townsfolk, he drank their mead, he ate their food, he attended mass at the chapel – all while never telling any of them of the impending danger the town would face.

As Valten became accustomed with the locals, Balthasar sat on the airship discussing his project with his Dwarf peer. They huddled around a table as Gelt laid out his plans.
“Two years ago Rundespitze was beset by a shaggoth attack. The town’s defences managed to fend off the beast but only once it had ransacked its way through two of the town’s quarters. If Eisenblut can keep this dragon ogre contained within that same rough area, I shall consider this test a success and will forward my results to Count Hertwig.”

“Tha’ experiment yielded over two hundreds Balthasar, are ye sure this’ll be worth it?” the Dwarf replied.

“Of course it will Malakai. For too long you and I have been treated like freaks. Have faith my friend, we will disprove the nay-sayers once and for all. Think not of Mielau, think of the thousands we will save in the years to come.”

“D’ye think tha boy will come?”

“I think he will. Young men like him are always so keen to prove themselves…” Balthasar Gelt concluded.

….
◙ Sad React: Balthasar was wrong.

The following day lightning struck from the heavens and a fearsome Dragon Ogre Shaggoth heard its call. The beast charged down the mountain slopes and the airship prepared to deploy Skarbrand to thwart the monster’s charge.

Alas, Valten never made any appearance. Despite his wishes to save the town he couldn’t in good conscience take part in Gelt’s schemes, thus he turned his back on Mielau in search of other places where he could play hero.

The fighting between the two monsters was fierce as they hurled each other through house after house, leaving devastation in their wake. By the end of the battle Gelt concluded the test had been successful since Skarbrand had been able to contain the battle to certain sectors of the town, resulting in whole areas of the town coming out unscathed including the central plaza. However, whether the families of the 167 civilians who died that day in the affected quarters of Mielau would agree with Balthasar’s assessment was an entirely different matter.

As Balthasar Gelt flew off triumphantly with his daemon safely returned to its cell within the Spirit of Grungni, far more citizens were left cursing the sorcerer than thanking him.
….
(Prelude to Wow and Laugh React)

Lightning struck and the Dragon Ogre Shaggoth descended to attack the town of Mielau. But huzzah! A hero rode forth!

As the Spirit of Grungni was preparing to unleash their daemonic warrior, Balthasar looked on from afar as a valiant warrior clad in Sigmarite armour rode atop a white steed holding a glowing Ghal Maraz aloft. Villagers cheered as Valten rode past them but this only made Gelt concerned. The plan was for Valten to help the villagers evacuate the town once the shaggoth came into sight. If that was the case, why was Valten picking up speed as opposed to dismounting?

“What’s he doing?” Balthasar asked himself under his breath.

Valten’s steed picked up speed as his hammer lit brighter and brighter until finally, he had passed all of Mielau and was now riding up the mountainside straight toward the shaggoth. He wasn’t here to minimise the Dragon Ogre’s attack, he was here to prevent that attack in the first place!

Balthasar and the Dwarfs pondered what to do now as Valten used the light of his hammer to guide the Shaggoth away from Mileau and off into a nearby forest.

Almost two hours later Valten returned to Mielau having successfully exhausted the shaggoth in a wild goose-chase through the forests of Ostermark to the point that the beast had simply given up its hunt and returned to its slumber. The Sigmarite Disciple strode through the town’s central plaza being hailed as a true hero by the locals but this mood quickly soured when Valten saw Balthasar Gelt waiting for him at the door to his inn.

….
◙ Laugh React: “It seems I was right, you really do have the makings of a hero within you, boy.” Balthasar noted.

“My lord, I am sorry that I ignored your orders. I simply couldn’t stand by and let the town be attacked.” Valten began pleading.

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me, boy. I was young once too. Today I have been beaten, I shall withdraw….

Oh, but Valten? Don’t expect to be invited to my next experiment would you? I have no need for glory-seeking idealists in my employ.” Balthasar suggested before leaving Valten to his own devices.

As the gold wizard left, Valten vowed to himself that he would one day do whatever he could to make sure that Balthasar Gelt faced justice for his machinations.
….
◙ Wow React: Valten approached the Grand Patriarch to explain his actions only to suddenly trip over his footing as a set of golden shackles appeared around his knees.

“You just couldn’t follow orders, could you? I gave you simple instructions, I told you why I needed to do this and yet even then, you just had to get in my way. Didn’t you? You see? This is the folly that comes with hero worship.”

“My lord, I-“

“Silence!” Balthasar yelled as an iron gag materialised over Valten’s mouth. “I gave you a chance to be part of history and this is how you reward me? You are nothing but a preening, self-entitled prude and I will not let you stand in the way of the Empire’s survival. If you wish to be Mielau’s hero so much, you can watch over them as a statue!” Balthasar spat as he expanded his spell-cast, resulting in gold emerging from his shackled knees and spreading up and down his body, cascading into every crevice and boiling the would-be hero’s skin in the process.

Once Valten’s final transmutation was complete, Balthasar gave the order to set up a perimeter around the town and to fire a hellstorm rocket off toward the dragon ogres’ caves. With any luck, Balthasar would get another chance to test Project Eisenblut today.
….
(Prelude to Love and Angry React)

Thunder boomed across the skies and lightning struck as the Shaggoth left its cave in order to raid Mielau.

As the beast came cascading down the mountainside Gelt gave the command to unleash Skarbrand as down below a group of Dwarfs in Makaisson’s employ unlocked his cage and allowed the monster to emerge. Skarbrand left his cage and stood to attention, his torn wings unfurling as his axes were brought to him. Once his weapons were in his grip, Skarbrand let out an almighty roar and commenced his charge against his draconic foe.

The Shaggoth spotted the Bloodthirster coming for it and the two beasts looked their sights toward one another as they geared up for melee. Skarbrand ran as far as its thick muscular thighs could take him whereas the Shaggoth relied on its quadrupedal galop for momentum until finally they clashed.

The shaggoth got the first strike in with a slash of its long axe into the Bloodthirster’s shoulder-line but Skarbrand merely used that blow to empower its rage further, hacking its axes into the sides of the shaggoth’s torso before tackling the beast into a nearby residential house.

However, as the shaggoth collapsed into the building nobody inside came to much harm as Valten emerged from that same building only a few seconds before impact with two children slung over his shoulder and their parents running just behind him. With the house cleared, Skarbrand pressed on, delivering a downward slap of its elbow as the shaggoth tried to stand.
….
◙ Love React: Skarbrand used the downed Shaggoth to his advantage, making sure to simply clobber the beast where it stood rather than indulging its want to spread their fight further around the town. Skarbrand delivered blow after blow, pounding on the Shaggoth’s body and immobilising its own defences by standing on its tail.

From here Skarbrand and Valten worked together as an unspoken team. Skarbrand beat up the Shaggoth while trying to prevent it from widening the area of their fight while Valten did his best to keep the locals at bay from the monsters. It didn’t always work. Sometime the Shaggoth would gain some footing and hurl Skarbrand through a nearby household but it never took too long for the Bloodthirster to gain the upper hand again as it pounded away on the dragon ogre until finally, the dragon ogre collapsed and fell unconscious.

With the Shaggoth defeated, Skarbrand grabbed it by the tail and proceeded to drag its body away from the town before promptly finishing the beast off as it beheaded the Shaggoth with its axes.

As Gelt and Makaisson watched the greater daemon kill the Shaggoth, the two masters took a sigh of relief. Collateral damage seemed to have been kept to a minimum, Valten played his part in keeping civilians at bay from the fighting and they were now confident that Skarbrand could be relied on from here on. All that remained now was to send their findings on to Count Hertwig to further endorse Project Eisenblut.
….
◙ Angry React: As the Bloodthirster attempted to guarantee victory over the shaggoth by crushing it further into the wreckage of the first home the two monsters came across, the dragon ogre suddenly surprised the daemon with a trick of its own as it flipped itself over and struck Skarbrand’s face with its tail in the process.

The Bloodthirster reared back and the draconic beast rose to attention once more, wrapping its arms round Skarbrand’s torso and chucking him across the street. The Shaggoth picked up its axe and attempted to strike the bloodthirster again only for the weapon to glace off the daemon’s left forearm. The Dragon Ogre tossed its axe aside and relied instead on a different tactic of dealing damage to the bloodthirster, pushing him through buildings!

And so the battle grew worse and worse as the two monsters abandoned their weapons and turned to more animalistic methods of fighting as they sent each other hurtling into nearby terrain. Down on the ground Valten was doing all he could to keep civilians at bay from the monsters’ wrath but this only became more and more of an insurmountable task as the monsters took their battle to most corners of the town, crashing and smashing their way through any buildings on their way there.

Over on the airship Malakai was becoming cautious as he and Gelt could see that a path the length of the town’s Eastern to Northern corner was already on fire but Balthasar refused to intervene in the experiment, still optimistic that Skarbrand would come out the victor.

The daemon and the behemoth continued their clash, with the shaggoth moving the two further toward the centre of town as opposed to always fighting on the outskirts. Local citizens rallied and took up arms against the invaders but were thrown aside with ease as the two monsters trod over or simply fell onto them. Meanwhile, Valten was following the action doing his best to track where the beasts would turn in order to rescue as many lives as he could but changes in the flow of battle often meant he made the wrong assumptions and therefore, made vital errors in trying to save people from harm.

Finally, Skarbrand and the Dragon Ogre geared up for their final clash as their fighting took them right to the centre of the town, right to where Mielau’s main church and town hall were based. Valten could see where their devastation was headed and rode on ahead, aiming to warn the clergy of the monsters’ attack as row upon row of townhouses were crushed in their wake.

Malakai could see what way the battle was headed too and gave the order to his Dwarfs to steer the airship over there and shut the fight down. However, Gelt stopped this plan from ever materialising as he used his magic to freeze the airship’s controls in place, justifying his actions through sheer devotion to his experiment. The dwarf begged Balthasar to see reason and to put an ending to the fighting now but the alchemist refused, blinded by his own ambitions.

Down below Valten was in the process of evacuating the church when the two monsters suddenly slammed into the building. Valten ducked for cover but in vain as the ceiling collapsed in on itself followed by the entire roof and bell tower atop the building coming down as well, killing everyone inside in an instant.

Outside the Church the two beasts were still tussling as the Shaggoth grabbed Skarbrand by one of his horns in an effort to slam him into the ground while Skarbrand repeatedly kneed the dragon ogre in the crotch. Finally after a long brawl and setting most of Mielau on fire, Skarbrand finally came out on top as he picked up a discarded church bell from the recently collapsed roof and decided to use it as a makeshift flail as he spun its rope around and struck the shaggoth with the bell’s metal rim. This process continued for a minute or two, as each time the shaggoth attempted to attack, Skarbrand spun the bell and struck the beast. Eventually the rope snapped from overuse but the battle continued as the bloodthirster merely resorted to bashing the shaggoth to death with the bell clutched firmly between his two hands. Over and over and over again Skarbrand carved the dragon ogre’s skull in with the great church bell in his hands until finally, the Shaggoth was dead with very little resembling a head even remaining.

Skarbrand tossed the bell aside and roared out a cry of victory as Balthasar Gelt looked on proudly over his creation. But alas, given all the collateral damage that had been inflicted in the fight, no less to the young hero Valten, it would be very difficult for Gelt to convince anyone to support Project Eisenblut now. Even Malakai was horrified by what had happened today…
….
◙ Like React: Valten came to the town’s aid and Skarbrand was deployed to fight the Dragon Ogre Shaggoth.

However, the battle went in an unexpected direction wherein only a few minutes into the monsters’ battle, more Dragon Ogres woke up from their caves and began charging downhill towards Mielau thereby giving the Shaggoths the upper hand as they clobbered their axes and maces against Skarbrand’s body over and over to the point where Skarbrand couldn’t even muster the time to stand and fight before receiving another blow.

Upon realising his plan wasn’t going according to plan and that the experiment could no longer be compared to previous instances, Gelt ordered the Spirit of Grugni to fire off a flair, commanding Skarbrand and Valten to flee the town and leave Mielau to the Shaggoths’ whims.