Tremble at the word of the King...

... and quake before his vengeance!

Especially as Fyarr's own tribe, the Kwae Karr Orcs, are now finished...

Don't know whether the name Kwae Karr is a reference to the Quakers or not - or why you'd make such a reference or why that would be funny!  - must be a joke in that name somewhere - took me a while to get the Fyarr Guard so do let me know if I'm missing something obvious! Only thing I can think of is Quaker Oats?

Anyway to get the first Orc tribe under my belt is definitely a relief, although I now have another 30 orcs to paint up for the Severed Hand Tribe sitting in front of me!

Enough blather on with the pics!

As you can possibly make out Ruglud's Armoured Orcs make up the main part of the warriors with the motley mix of other 80s Kev Adams orcs making them up to a nice round strength of 40! King Fyarr and his Fyarr Guard lurk in the back of the picture, whilst half of Harboth's Orc Archers, including Harboth himself and his standard bearer, make up the tribe's contingent of missile troops.

Was over the moon to get the original Bagrash mini a while back, so the shaman I was using before, who came with the War Wyvern, has been relegated to the ranks of the warriors!

His shield was fun to paint (although the ears went a little big!) and gave me a nice flat surface to get to grips with the crowned head symbol of King Fyarr - might replace the shields on the Fyarr guard for flat plastic ones and repeat the design there as well...

Finally we have the last additions - the afore-mentioned Harboth and his standard bearer. Tried to give them a bit of colour to stand them out from the rank and file a bit - not sure whether its a bit bright with the reds and blues yet... The shields will stay stripy till I think of something else too!

For you Shorty ze Var is over...

Just a bit of a reshuffle for the Dwarfs of Ashak Rise...

Much as I love my crossbow-toting gnome I felt he would be happier with the rest of his kin waiting for the day I get to paint them up as a little warband for the odd game of SOBH/Skulldred/Havoc!

Besides I had managed to procure, some time ago now, my fave dwarf mini ever... Nobby the crossbowman!

Dunno what it is I like so much about him - perhaps its the Don't catch a cold on that nasty battlefield! look he carries off so well with his quilted armour?

The other replacement is the excellent and very fitting Dwarf miner holding aloft a nugget of pure gold - the whole reason this band of miscreants deserted their posts and began their illicit gold-panning operation in the first place!

Thought I'd try out some river scenery I got for a steal off ebay ages ago too - its been waiting for a bit of a tidy up and some washes to make the water less bright and blue, but it doesn't look too shabby in these pics!

Couldn't resist this mini, again on ebay, and he'll fit in nicely with the looter for many other scenarios I'm sure...

It was a little tricky deciding who he would replace until I noticed the little fella I had originally used for Snorinn (before I got the original scenario mini) looked a very similar size to the gnome - just a little smaller all over than the other dwarfs. So it was settled - off he went to join the gnome adventurers!

Light at the end of the tunnel...

Thought it might be a good time to take stock.

Orc forces left to paint:

Kwae Karr Orcs - complete apart from Bagrash and 2 archers (Harboth and his standard bearer)

Severed Hand Orcs - Hagar Sheol (Ugezod mini!), 10 archers, 20 warriors.

Vile Rune - Need to paint 36 more warriors - of which I need to buy 31 more! I'm slowly going off the idea of using my 19 strong savage orc unit from the 90s - need more 80s orcy goodness from Kev Adams!

So total number of orcs needed to paint - 70 orcs...

Grand League

Wood Elves of Kachass Pass - 21 Skarloc's archers.

Brommedir's Bows - 14 plastic Wood Elf bowmen from the Warhammer Regiments box?

Total Elves - 35

So total number of minis left to paint is... 104!

While I'm at it here's some group shots of all the Grand League forces gathered together in Linden Way - should cheer me up and rouse me into more action!

Linden life...

As we know in happier times the weary traveller could be sure of finding rest and refreshment at the The Slann in Space - the stained but lively heart of the settlement of Linden Way.

And so on to the other amenities provided by the good people of Linden...

As your horse no doubt needs feeding, watering and bedding down for the night, you'll be needing the sevices of Wilfrid Post - owner of The Winning Post - Livery and Stables. Although you'll not get more than two words out of him (he prefers more equine company) Wilfird provides a first rate service. Retired from the racing circuit after his horse Eatbiscuit became overweight, Wilfrid dreams of his glory days and constantly badgers his stable "boy", Thori Ditorri, to be his next jockey!

Thori, as a dwarf, hates horses nearly as much as he hates everything else and even Wilfirid's promises of great riches won't persuade him to get any nearer than he already does to shoe the nasty brutes! Just why Thori came to be in the trade he is in is not clear, although significantly he never mentions home...

Once your horses are fed and watered and you've survived a night at the Slann you'll be needing something to mop your breakfast up with. Tom the Baker keeps the village well fed and sometimes armoured if a batch doesn't come out quite right! Thanks to the indispensable service he provides Tom is accepted and tolerated by the other inhabitants although he does have some very odd ideas about Time and its relative dimensions in Space - engage him in conversation at your peril! Among some of his weirder theories is the idea that it might be possible one day to travel backwards as well as forwards in time! This is nothing, however, compared to his belief that one day mullets, sideburns and moustaches will be the height of fashion...

You'll also be wanting to stock up on provisions before heading down the Ortar highway. In which case you'll need to pay Grunville Longpockets and his wife Gladys at the village stores a visit. Not renowned for his charitable urges, Grunville will cut a hard bargain. The story that he insisted on taking a poor man's mule in part exchange for a new plow still does the rounds in the Slann! Better to hope his wife Gladyss, who is charity itself, is behind the counter. Many ask what she sees in him but when it comes to it - he is pretty much the only one to scratch any kind of a living out of this tough border settlement...

As you came down from the mountains into Linden Way you may have noticed a curious and tumble-down cottage lying in ruins just outside the village. You may even have heard maniacal laughter, wretched sobbing or bitter words muttered through clenched teeth. You were wise not to tarry there as this is the ramshackle abode of Old Barrachus, the insane Illusionist! Even in his younger days Barrachus was seen as being distinctly odd and led a lonely existence at the College in Merlinas. As his powers of illusion grew so did his disillusion with the world of men. He came to view his conjurations as more real than the miserable reality that was  his life and retreated into a fantasy world. Increasingly shunned, Barrachus upped sticks and went in search of solitude. Finding utter isolation a little hard on his appetite he moved to the abandoned cottage outside Linden Way where food was a little more available. And there he spends his days, happy in the belief that the moss-covered stones and rotting floorboards that lie all around him are in fact a wondrous palace...

For every wound, a balm...

For every sorrow, cheer.

For every storm, a calm.

For every thirst, a beer.

Anon.

Its been a long and weary road I've trudged since setting out on this venture to Orc's Drift and I think it high time that I pause a moment, take the weight off and treat myself to a well deserved beer!

As luck would have it there is a rather fine establishment in Linden Way - The Slann in Space!

 

Renowned for keeping a great pint of Bugmans XXXXXX and the formidable Troll-Breath Stout, The Slann in Space is definitely worth a visit. Stay away from the cocktails though - especially the green ones...

The secret behind a great pint is a great landlord - Arthur Bitte. His selfless devotion in the pursuit of good beer means that he feels honour-bound to taste his wares on a regular basis to ensure absolute freshness - that is about a pint every half hour...

As the bell is hardly ever rung to call time of an evening due to Arthur's debilitating alcoholism, the locals know a night's drinking is done when consciousness finally slips from his drunken grasp and he can't be raised to pull another pint!

Looking proudly on, when not bemoaning the state of the youth, roads, ruling classes, cot of beer, etc, is Arthur's dear old Dad - Aulden Bitte. Having built and run the place for many years the punters tolerate Aulden and his interminable yarns. These days he enjoys the same kind of status as the various stuffed animals and hunting trophies that bedeck the yellowed interior of the inn! Just don't get on the wrong side of his stick...

The final member of the family is the main reason why most of the male local and itinerant population of Linden Way don't leave to seek their fortune in one of the nearby towns! Business would surely be a lot slower for the old Slann if Arthur's young and unattached daughter, Fancia Bitte, wasn't around to pull in the punters...

Strangely though Fancia has rejected every drunken, lecherous advance, every sobbing plea for her hand in marriage, and could write a four volume set on put downs for would be Romeos!

Equally strange is the lack of amorous advances on the Slann's barmaid - Helga Fästman (Or when she's not around - Helga the unstoppable!). Sadly Helga would like nothing more than to be swept off her feet (a logistical nightmare in itself!) by a (very) tall, dark stranger - being something of a soft-hearted romantic deep down...

Village gossip buzzed about the reasons as to her great bulk when she first arrived - however, several concussions later the subject seemed to lose its interest and it would take a brave soul to conjecture now on the possibility of any Ogre heritage in her family!

And where would we be without a torrid and complicated love triangle! Cue bad lad, and general layabout - Elwin Presslay - EastEnders theme tune kicks in...

Busker by trade, Elwin virtually lives in the old Slann, dragging himself out onto the highway whenever his purse and consequently his glass is empty to beguile any passers-by out of the odd coin in return for a tune or two. Barnabuss, his faithful dancing monkey, and brains of the operation, often helps out the gullible and unobservant if their pockets appear to deep to show their appreciation for the performance!

Somehow this rogue has succeeded, with his slightly dubious tales of past adventures and general air of rakishness, in attracting the attentions of both Fancia and Helga. It is a life lived on a knife edge though - hell hath no fury like a Helga deceived...