Forces of Hordes: Minions
| Forces of Hordes: Minions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Release Date | 2010 | |
| Pages | 98 | |
| Preceded by | Forces of Hordes: Circle Orboros | |
| Followed by | Hordes: Domination | |
Story
Near the Marchfells on the Black River, the river steamer Alton Alre is ambushed by gatormen, who kill the crew and passengers to the last man.
During a feast held by Lord Carver for his subordinate chieftains in the Thornfall Alliance, a warrior enters the hall and reports about a gatormen incursion into territory claimed by the farrow, specifically a swamp on the Black River which Carver himself doesn't even remember to have claimed. Most of the chieftains demand to fight, but Carver doesn't wish to waste time and warriors on some insignificant stretch of river. However, before he could speak, Dr. Arkadius voices his opinion and speaks what Carver has already been thinking. Unwilling to let the chiefs think that the doctor has too much influence over his decisions, Carver decides to attack.
Meanwhile, Calaban the Grave Walker, after having had his warriors massacre the humans, are observing his subordinate bokors conduct a ritual to awaken an ancient reptilian spirit and bind it to his will. A gatorman warrior warns him he's interloping on farrow territory controlled by an unusually strong chief, but Calaban only orders him to prepare for the defence of the ritual while he waits for more ships.
Soon enough Barnabas tells Calaban to return to Blindwater: Calaban has finished what he requested to do, while Barnabas is concerned that the slaughter of the ship will attract more human armies. Calaban tries his best to convince Barnabas to let him stay for a longer time, and Barnabas, despite finding Calaban's ritual well-prepared, ornate and unfamiliar to him, eventually decides to indulge him.
The farrow reach the river and determine the gatormen moved farther north, escalating their intrusion. Soon they spot debris floating down the river; Arkadius recognises one of the boats on which he once booked passage. Since the corpses are not chewed to the bone, Arkadius deduces that it isn't food that the gatormen needed. At the same time, Carver's warriors engage in battle with the gatormen, and he makes haste to join them, forcing them to pull back.
Meanwhile Calaban is deep in trance, his mind at once with the malevolent spirits enslaved to his will. Barnabas again orders him to leave the place, though Calaban again succeeds at convincing him, this time to lure the farrow to his position - all he needs is a few more deaths.
Carver gives chase to the gatormen, eventually encountering Calaban and his group of bokors. More gatormen and bog trogs fall upon his position, and Carver feels unable to press the battle forward to confront Calaban, who seemingly hasn't joined the fight. As the battle rages, the ancient reptilian spirit rises from the swamp. The swamp itself seems to respond to the entity’s presence: the temperature drops severely, and the ground beneath the farrow becomes viscous and grasping, seizing their hooves and pulling them downward as if seeking to swallow them whole.
Barnabas approaches Carver, who uses his sorcery to free himself from the muck and the two engage in a duel. Carver knows he needs to get clear of the howling spirit above that incapacitated his entire force. Arkadius, barely surviving after being beset by gatormen, advises him to retreat, but Carver refuses to disappoint his warriors. Smashing Barnabas back and sending him staggering, Carver finds the gatormen and bog trogs suddenly fighting each other, and realises that Calaban didn't join the fight because he seems engaged in a desperate mental struggle with the wailing entity above, and clearly it is not fully obedient to his will. He prepares to rush at Calaban while tasking Arkadius with dealing with Barnabas. Arkadius injects venom into Barnabas' bloodstream to weaken him, while Carver fires his scattergun straight at Calaban, interrupting his concentration, just as a wall of wind and rain drives Carver away from Calaban.
As the farrow start rallying and firing at the maddened gatormen and bog trogs, Calaban's blood drips over, and his pact with the spirit solidifies. By sheer strength of will, Calaban forces it to give up its manifested form and sink into his crystal skull. Barnabas drags Calaban away, and he assures his master that the losses they've suffered does not matter compared to what they've gained. Together the two bokors and the rest of their army swim back to Blindwater.
Following their victory, the farrow continue their feast, with the gator meat gathered from the battle.
