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Hi there! The Oyabun has been struggling recently to beat her nightmares and she has gathered her council looking for advice. In other words, I have played 4 games as Misaki against Dreamer and I have lost all of them ^^'. So I am looking for advice 😃 Next weekend we are going to play the 5th game, below are the strategy, deployment and schemes: My opponent usually plays in keyword and he recently aquired WW, Bandersnatch, Carver and Teddy so I guess he will play some of them. Which tactics would you try?

They didn’t sit shoulder to shoulder by choice. Leveticus’ rabbit warren of a shop left crevasses between the stacks of merchandise barely wide and tall enough for him, let alone for the men who had come to speak with him. Howard Langston had found a measure of comfort by straddling one of the lower heaps, but Joss could not even turn to one side. Hemmed in by the pitted counter of knotwood, by a spray of stone-headed cutting tools escaping from their bucket and three of Langston’s legs, he had to speak sideways to the others. “How the hell do you think business has been?! Only reason I don’t smash Toni’s smug face in—“ “—Kaeris, I’m telling you! Not Toni. She’s gone feral same as they all do—“ “—Real convenient to blame the one who flies out of reach and never do anything, isn’t it, Langston—“ Leveticus caught the wrist of the waif as she wandered into him, and set her on another track through the room. The other men’s eyes turned to follow her swaying even while the argument ground on. “—No, ‘convenient’ would be blaming his right-hand man, only one he ever trusted—you know where I could find someone like that, Joss?—Jesus!” Hank broke off as a round, fanged shadow flashed past the window, falling, behind the waif, and the floorboards shook. “What was that, some new kind of dropping bear?!” “Don’t make things up. Why the hell do you think—“ Another figure flashed past, mostly pink, landing lightly enough to only clatter the boards. “I found one!” it announced, and let itself in. The pink thing dodged arachnid legs, popped up again next to Joss—a girl, of course, but this one butted into Joss with purpose, tried rapidly three times to find a way past him and over the counter, then darted back out again trailing a distinct reek of pigeons. Both men blinked, and she was gone. After a moment Howard Langston stated the obvious. “That wasn’t Alyce.” [Series 5 of the battle narratives: The Children's Crusade] [Series 6 of the battle narratives: My Jade]

That alleyway was the one the inquisitive child was looking for. No. 'Sought'. Marlena thumped the heel of her hand against her forehead, hard. Teacher had gotten into there pretty bad, to still be lecturing her for her word choices the day after the rant. But then--she would have been angry with herself to see the smile that flitted across her face--that had been Treasure's lecture, for Treasure's mistake, for what the child had been called in anger. Treasure had been tasked with divining what fit Teacher's idea of "one which would suit you, although you're unready for an unwise choice"; the child herself had been told to divine "the others" and learn what quality she had that they lacked, or (more likely) what Teacher felt they had and she lacked. At first, the child had thought 'the others' had been fellow-passengers on that train, but tiptoeing down the logical steps of testing a hunch that Teacher had taught, that explanation didn't hold. If she could have sensed any one of those, why couldn't she trace her parents? Others with a tiny teddy? Tiny teddy itself thought she was unique. Others who the spider-lady had helped? That thought brought a faint thrill of hope, and she hugged tiny teddy and concentrated on the feeling. Children. Other lost children in the city, faint threads of feelings in the dirty alleyways, distant as the stars. Some floated tangled and alone, and felt a little joyful, like Treasure's happiness after she killed. Some, though, were suspended lightly between two points. The inquisitive child reached out and ran her hand along the silver cord that ran through her machinery and tiny teddy's as well. Stretched taut as it was, it acted as a rod instead of a thread, and so the two tended to move as one... One of the beautiful hollow ones--waifs, she had learned was the correct word--drifted past then, and its thread stretched behind it, unwavering through walls and waste goods, to connect to Teacher. It didn't contain the feeling. It wasn't one of the others. Marlena thought find the lost, and the tether trembled under her hand. Tiny teddy lowered one heavy forepaw to the floor and swiveled on the spot. She followed the line of its snout and felt where the distant stars gathered into a small constellation of children. She thought again, pursue, and tiny teddy loped out of the room almost before she had secured a firm grip on it. [Series 4 of the battle narratives: Chasing Lazarus] [Interlude: Magpie, Storied Soundtracks contest 2017] [Series 5 of the battle narratives: The Children's Crusade]

[page 2 of 2] father's work: one of them what fills the fireboxes DOD: dun't no notes: not dead but gone 'before the wintur', 1905 mother's name: mama? she dun't no mother's work: calkalator? one of them what does the figuring DOD: 1902 notes: mother & baby girl dead of sickness, maybe plauge tests: nekropunks yes gakee no cruelygans no flesh constructs yes death doxees no notes: if yohan can smash them she likes them. i dun't understand masheens but she do. she ain't a ressur, she's a masheen girl. she runs up to peasekeeprs and that lil marshal puppet thing. says they're masheens all. give her back to the masheen shop i say. she ain't a marshal neither. cordell loudwater, death marshal for the Lady Justice, in this year 1906. The child wrapped up warm in the stolen marshal's coat. It dragged half of its skirt on the ground but that was ok. It hid the extra pieces of wood she had tied to either leg. She backed up to the little coffin she had cut down from carpenter's scraps and wriggled her arms through the straps of its cradle, shook out a squashed hat and mashed it down almost over her eyes, and then marched straight for the exit of the death marshals' compound. The wood strapped to either side of her knees forced her not to run, or even to walk, but to lift each foot up and set it down in turn. She stepped heavily like Hoffman, like a construct, and in the disguise of the brutal effigy stomped out without once being challenged. She wasn't helping Hoffman by staying with the death marshals, not really. She could be a much bigger help to him somehow. It was a scary idea. But what if she went back to being a street cousin for awhile, and chased after the one construct he couldn't seem to control? That angry, boxy, cranky, lucky Lazarus! He wouldn't fire on a street cousin...would he? Her tummy rumbled. It was probably lunch time back at the Guild. Back to catching rats for the only meal of the day, if she was lucky. The child sighed. She should've stolen a bag to go along with those sandwiches. She pulled the heavy, ham-scented coffin higher onto her back and kept on clomping further into the city. [Series 3 of the battle narratives: Making of a Mechromancer (Divergent Paths event)] [Series 4 of the battle narratives: Chasing Lazarus]

The witchling handler looked back and forth between the older child who'd thought she'd hidden herself well among the rolling stock and the younger one in mechanic's overalls walking alongside the hunter. After several seconds the handler cleared her throat and muttered something to Hoffman about a misunderstanding. The construct handler didn't say anything--she was on duty, after all, and it was his duty to speak not hers--but 'told you so' flashed across her expression. But they were at the scene now, and the handler pressed them into service regardless before hurrying off to report the train's outbreak of magic to her superiors. The austringer's raptor passed over the rolling stock, making note of the avenues of escape. Witchling stalkers crept around the shacks of the train yards and half-unloaded cars, swifter and smaller than was typical for the breed, along with the hunter and the younger child, blocking all paths except for the one broad enough to accommodate a collared catch from a previous train, the Guild's pet abomination, and Hoffman his handler. Well. All visible, human paths. Lilith let Nekima and the mature nephilim fly on ahead. Better to keep pace with Barbaros and to keep him happy. One treacherous lieutenant on the field was quite enough to manage, though she could be managed just as easily as letting her be the first of the nephilim to break from cover and assault the vermin. She couldn't suppress a grin as Hoffman looked away from the surprise of Nekima, to the older child and then to the younger one as no doppelganger presented itself. Lilith raised her eyes to Ryle's blank mask, and sought to draw him on, but energies from the collared catch swelled outward like heat, breaking eye contact. She frowned. All the same, the heat did not reach very far. Not quite far enough to cloak the austringer, for one. As the perpetual enemies of Malifaux squabbled, a witchling stalker slipped under the upraised knife of a shaman, grabbing hold of the arm of the older girl, and pulling her out from under the falling blade. She stumbled after him, only less puzzled about why his grasp was green than why they were fighting over her in the first place. "Who--" she began, but he forestalled her with a wink and a whisper of "Francois".... [We didn't have enough witchling stalker models and substituted with bayou gremlins and moon shinobi. Later in week one, a different Child encounter did not have a Francois LaCroix, and proxied him with a witchling stalker. Clearly, gremlins had been raiding more closets than just Perdita Ortega's these days. Series 2 of the battle narratives: The Constructs' Apprentice Series 3 of the battle narratives: Making of a Mechromancer]

First, we apologize for Joseph’s sniffling throughout the entire episode. He got too close to an actual person outside and caught everything. We talk with Flynnt about a game he had with Rasputina against the dreaded Pandora and we have a full breakdown of Gaining Grounds 2016. http://midwestwargaming.com/podcast/episode-4-sorrow-sniffles/

The strangers' leader and greatcoat-clad follower strode in and headed straight to the back of the workshop, leaving his gang to loiter around the workstations, rap on armor plates with fists, test the weights of chains on the hoists, and generally make a nuisance of themselves. One of them cocked a club over her shoulder and sauntered to where the child was assembling gear sets too small for adult hands. "Hey, kid," she smirked, "you like candy?" The child nodded her head as the other strangers sniggered. "Well, so do I, but you'll have to do, huh?" They all cackled, the strangers, but mechanics muttered low in their throats, looked up from their work, and edged their hands towards pry-bars and hammers. Just before the first pickaxe was raised, the air whistled with the passage of a bullwhip, and the fingers almost lost their grip on the club. "Annie, quit harassing the other little orphans," growled McCabe, and the other wastrels turned their cackling against her. She flexed her fingers, mottling with blood and bruises, to be sure they still worked, then folded all but one back around the haft of the club. The leader of the strangers didn't deign to notice it. "We're done here. Let's go." They smirked, but slid out of the workshop in seconds regardless. Soon Hoffman emerged from his private workstation and in deadly controlled tones asked after McCabe, but too late. The child trotted after Hoffman in a hurry. Inside the walled-off section of the workshop, the spare greatcoat had been cast aside, leaving Ryle to stand alone, with a .50 hole drilled through meat and machinery. She frowned. He had certainly been in full repair when McCabe checked him out from among the available constructs. It was because of that tophat wearing jerk who ambushed them when he didn't think she was trailing him, she was certain of it. [Series 1 of the battle narratives: Child in the New World] [Interlude: Sin Eaters (March Community Contest 2016)] [Series 2 of the battle narratives: The Constructs' Apprentice]

Hoffman had enough trouble walking. The austringer's raptor was fighting and fluttering still and would not cling to just one of his master's arms. So it fell to the child to drag along behind her, in a wagon with a bent axle, what scraps were left of the rest of the Guild's constructs. She was thrilled. "Didya see that! I told it 'again!' an' it did it again! Smack, pow, right in his turban!" The child made an overhand swoop like the hunter's harpoon sailing up and out. "And all it carried back was his turban, child." The austringer thrust his arms forward and edged his body between the raptor and the wagon. "It does no good to try to move Sidir. He moves when he wills. Not when you would want him to move." She blew a raspberry. The raptor stretched its neck and wings to spot the source of the noise. "I know that now. You coulda said." The child stopped on the spot and dropped the wagon's handle, then turned and hopped into the pile of scrap. "Besides," she said, and started to dig through the pile. The watcher's wing slid over the edge of the wagon and unfolded and the raptor threshed the air, trying to take off. "Besides, your dumb bird wasn't so smart either. Dintcha' tell him it was a watcher clockwork an' not another raptor?" "Animals do not think like us--" the austringer began. "I told the watcher how to evade the raptor," Hoffman said. Slowly. Between steps of the construct framework. The child stopped digging around in the scrap pile, and thought. Sure, she told clockworks to do stuff all the time. Grownups didn't. Not even the ones who were playing along. And this Hoffman guy was definitely not playing along with anyone. The crazy fighter lady kicked his little attendant into scrap, and he did not stop to put it back together or yell at anybody. He had pointed his blowtorch straight into her face and held it steady! That did not go together with talkin' to clockworks. Or gettin' carried around by one like... She looked again, and jumped at how far away everyone had gotten in just half a minute. That construct framework never stopped stepping! In a tumble she grabbed hold of the wagon's handle again and skipped to catch up. The child passed the austringer on the way and upset the raptor again even though its master had at last gotten the hood onto its head. The wagon balked and squealed every time the axle bend caught on the bushing. But who cared? At last she'd found someone here she thought she understood. On another path away from that battlefield Misaki stepped just as slow, with a Ten Thunders brother guiding her by the upper arm, and another brother leading them both. Her face was blind with bandages. There was a secret art to using the other senses in place of sight. But there was also a secret art to fighting back the pain of terrible burns and that was the secret she needed to act upon now. So they led their lady. Behind them Sidir walked mostly side by side with the samurai, on the side away from the great gun. He kept just his toes ahead of the other man's toes. His turban was folded up neat to hide the harpoon holes. And they had been quiet for a very long while when Sidir spoke. "When next we meet with them, I will shoot the child." The samurai was not so tidy as Sidir. Powder holes were spotted all over his clothes.

Hans roared into his mask as his gauntleted fist missed his target and smashed a crater in the bare stone ground. "Now, now," said his opponent in a high-pitched and incredibly smug voice. "It's not very polite of you to assault a man while he's making a case!" The small man's laughter was like a rusty music box creaking its way through a tune. "Shut UP!" Hans screamed as he swung again, arcs of lightning dancing around his fists. "No!" His opponent dodged, his aristocratic clothing swirling and his eyes gleaming with malice behind his mask. "I haven't explained your offenses yet! You see, it all comes down to-" Hans swung again, with all the force the mechanisms in his armor would provide. With impeccable timing, his opponent dropped, the earth-shattering blow doing nothing more than carrying away his bowler hat. In the instant his view was clear, Hans had a view of the whole battle for the ancient ruins. He snarled as he saw the winged creature that had laid Von Schill low leap over a ruined wall and hurl itself at Lazarus, bloodied claws bared. "Let me finish!" screeched the lawyer, sliding to his feet. "The main point is this so-called Strongarm Suit of yours. What do you know of its design?" "Plenty!" He charged up again and hurled another blow. The lawyer stepped aside, and a few meters distant Hans saw a swirl of purple cloak and grey steel as Taelor swung her massive hammer, forcing back a demon riflewoman who had been crouching behind a wild hedge. "Evidently not! For example, I imagine you didn't even know the design of the arm joints is identical to one patented by Breachside Mechanical - a clear case of Intellectual Property Infringement!" Hans tried to spring forward to press the attack, but stumbled painfully as the suit's arm braces suddenly seized. The lawyer laughed at his distress, dancing around him. "And did you know also," the man cackled as Hans rose, "that the number 3 aetheric condenser is prone to failure under loads in excess of 35 Merlin's units? A gross violation of Construct Safety Dictates!" Hans was rocked forward as part of the complex machinery on the harness's back exploded, burning a hole in his reinforced Freikorps uniform. The lawyer was positively screaming with laughter now. Hans forced the pain down and took advantage of his enemy's distraction, dealing him a savage lightning-enhanced backhand that spun the lawyer entirely around. He screamed indignantly, and suddenly an invisible force battered Hans across the face, forcing him down on one knee. "Striking an officer of the law?!" The lawyer shrieked, frantically batting out a fire on his ruffled shirt. "You're only making it worse for yourself!" "SILENCE!" Hans screamed as he stood. "No lie or foul magic will save you!" He sprang forward, swinging his fist downwards, but again struck only stone. "These are no lies! It's my job to know your every little crime. For example you, my dear Hans, are personally guilty of no less than twelve instances of Disorderly Conduct Within a Public Space - five of them unrecorded, and unpunished!" Hans suddenly doubled over, nauseous, his head spinning. He felt as sick as he had the last time he'd gone celebrating with his fellow Freikorpsmen. Disjointed images swam in front of his eyes - broken bottles, an overturned market stall, a woman's bloodied face - and he vomited inside his mask. As he sank to his knees, he surveyed the battle through filth-spattered lenses. The demon woman had evaded Taelor, and was still aiming a smoking revolver at the crumpled and sparking form of Lazarus. Their librarian lay dead, torn apart by razor claws. The steam trunk was sprawled on its back, torn open and struggling futilely to right itself. And a robed figure in the powdered wig and full face mask of a senior Guild official surveyed the carnage, calmly gesturing here and there to direct his underlings. The lawyer circled into Hans's field of vision. He tried to rise, but his legs wouldn't respond. The Guild official in the distance gave a quick nod to the lawyer, and he cackled with glee. "Well then, that's that! Time for your sentence!" The lawyer straightened, adopting a formal posture quite at odds with the chaos arrayed behind him. "For your many flagrant violations of the laws of Malifaux, and by the authority of the Governor-General of said colony as referred by Secretary Lucius Mattheson, I do sentence you to die!" He twirled his cane, bringing its heavy head above him in preparation for a vicious downward blow. "Any last words?" Hans could only gurgle pitifully. "So noted." The blow came, and he knew no more.

WARNING: Some adult language. I realized too late that I cut off the beginning of the video but.... Deployment: Flank Strategy: Reconnoiter Scheme Pool: ALitS Distract Assassinate Protect Territory Cursed Object His Schemes: Protect Territory (Revealed) Assassinate My Schemes: ALitS (Revealed) Protect Territory (Revealed) His list: Leveticus -- 3 Pool +Desolate Soul [2] +From Ash [2] +To the Earth Return [1] Hollow Waif X 2 [0] Abomination [4] Ashes And Dust [13] +Scramble [2] Lazarus [10] +Oath Keeper [1] Rusty Alyce [10] +Desolate Soul [2] +From the Aether [2 My List: Lucius -- 7 Pool +Aether Connection [1] +Secret Assets [2] +Suprisingly Loyal [1] Primordial Magic [2] Captain Dashel [9] Guild Lawyer [6] Guild Rifleman [5] Guild Rifleman [5] Gupps [4] Young Nephilim [6] Young Nephilim [6]

Hey guys A buddy and I played a game on Saturday, my Viktorias against his Mei Feng, 50 soul stones. It was really fun and thematic. I wrote it up in "story style" from the perspective of the Viktoria crew. Deployment: flank Strategy: Sabotage with set up camp for defender (Viks attackers, Mei Feng defender) Viktorias schemes: Plant evidence, bodyguard (Johan) Mei Feng schemes: Plant evidence, bodyguard (Kang) Result: 9 - 8 to Viktoria Enjoy! ENTER THE DRAGONS Viktoria received an anonymous envelope with a letter, and a small amount of soul stones inside. On closer inspection, The letter was a contract, asking her to destroy one of the Arcanists supply warehouses along one of their railroads and make it look as if the Ten Thunders did it. If she accepted, she was to accomplish it in two nights time. After successfully completing the mission, she'd need to meet at the Star Theatre the night after to receive the rest of the stipulated lucrative amount in soul stones from a man in red, who would approach her. Viktoria thought to herself, why red? Red? A Guild guardsmen, or just a gentleman in a red suite? It must be the guild, or at least whoever planned this wants her to think it's the guild. She decided to do it. If she could help increase the tension between the 3 power houses of Malifaux, in anyway, then so be it. Especially if she earned a large amount of soulstones from it. --- The night air was brisk, Vanessa could feel the change in season coming, even through her duster coat she could feel the chill. Next to her was Johan, in his thick hooded cape with his massive glowing hammer resting over his shoulder. Just ahead were two Ronin - Tasha and Lisa, both carrying Ten Thunder standard issue dynamite and fuses, some would be used to to blow up the warehouse, some would be used to plant as false evidence. The small group were silent as they approached the point on the map the Viktorias told them to be. The area was close to southgate station, bordering the Quarantine zone. They came up towards an old ruined building on their left and a large dead tree, similar to the hanging tree, on their right. The soil was barren, but Vanessa could feel the energies of a leyline. Not too far ahead, to the right, Johan pointed out the warehouse, "I think that's what we're here to blow up". "Yes, we're in position", replied Vanessa in a whisper. She signalled to Tasha, and with that, Tasha pulled out an old pocket mirror, which she used to flicker some moon light off into the distance. Viktoria saw the flicker she was waiting for in the distance to her right, exactly where she expected it to come from. "Dependable as always", whispered the other Viktoria as she readjusted the straps slung over her shoulders, holding the sheaths that carried the two masamuni swords. Viktoria readied her clockwork pistol, pulled out a small mirror from her coat and looked back over her shoulder, her sister in spirit was there, both hands now moving up from the straps over her shoulders to unsheathe the two masamunis slung across her back. Next to her was the nameless girl, their small protégée, which they now just call, 'the student'. Just behind them crouched Alice, a freikorps librarian, who's arcane abilities have saved the sisters lives many times before. Viktoria flickered some moonlight off the mirror back over to Vanessa and the others on the opposite side of the ruins, signaling to approach the warehouse. As she put the mirror back into her coat, she heard voices coming from the tall ruins on her left behind the tall rock formation jutting out of the earths surface. "Bollocks!", exclaimed Viktoria in a whisper, "Why can't it ever be easy?". "If it was going to be easy, they wouldn't have hired us to do it", replied the other Viktoria, peaking over the small wall they were hiding behind. "I see two men, with construction tools as limbs. A taller man, with a massive shovel. A smaller man pushing a wheel barrow. And a woman followed by a, a flame?" "Mei Feng and her Ten thunders rail workers", said Alice cautiously, "they fight just as well as they build". "Bollocks!" extorted Viktoria as she quickly ducked behind the wall again, "they have a rail golem with them!" As Viktoria ducked down, the massive construct, three times the height of a man, stepped out from behind the ruins with steam billowing out its back on their far left, holding a piece of rail steel the length of two men in it's red hot, iron grip. "We have to go! We have to go now!" shouted the student jumping up. Before the other woman could react, the little girl sheathed her sword and started running into the open towards the warehouse ahead of them. The rail workers saw her, "Mistress, what do we do?" "Catch her!", exclaimed Mei Feng in a calm demeanor. One of the rail workers started running directly for the student, while the other started running to his right towards the wall the others were still hiding behind. "Go! Go! Go!" Shouted Viktoria, as both sisters stood up and started sprinting with unnatural speed towards the student. "Here we go", said Alice as she ran behind the two blondes, trying her best to keep up. --- "What's going on over there?" asked Lisa. "I'm not sure", replied Vanessa, "but it doesn't look good! Lisa, Tasha, Johan, you three run over to the warehouse and do what we came here to do. I'm going to make my way over towards my sisters there, looks like they could use some help." "Yes ma'am" replied Lisa with a sarcastic salute. "I'm coming with you Vanessa", instructed Johan. The two Ronin ran past the large, dead, hanging tree look-a-like and into the tall dry grass behind it. Vanessa and Johan jumped over the rubble they were hiding behind into the open and started running towards the sisters. "We're on a leyline!" said Vanessa. "What's that mean?" asked Johan. A long grin appeared on Vanessa's soft face, "You'll see!" --- As the beautiful blonde twins ran past the tall rock formation on their left, the rail worker running straight after the student came up through the trees next to the rock formation, meters away from the two of them. Viktoria paused, raised her clockwork pistol at the half iron man and released two shots, both hitting him. One shot ricocheted off his steel chest, only winding him and the other exploding a small chunk of flesh off his shoulder. After regaining his balance, he kept running. A blue ball of light hurtled past the two Viktorias on their right with such speed, it almost pushed them to the floor. The ball of light blasted into the rail worker with a blinding flash of light, exploding the man into bits of flesh and steel which landed with splashes and klanks around the twins. "We've got your backs!" Viktoria looked back over her shoulder, running up towards them into the open was Vanessa and Johan. Lisa and Tasha made it out of the tall grass, the warehouse not far away now. "Should we go over there and help?!" Lisa asked Tasha. "No, someone needs to do what we came here for!" With that, Tasha threw a stick of dynamite onto the ground and pointed at the warehouse. "Let's blow that building sky high, get paid and make the Thunders answer for it." --- The student carried on making a beeline for the warehouse, both Viktorias close behind her on either side, reached out and grabbed the little girl on either arm. "What are you doing?!", yelled one Viktoria. "You want to get killed?!" Yelled the other. "Wait for me!", Alice was struggling to keep up with the sisters. Both Viktorias turned around to see how far behind Alice was. Just as they turned around, Mei Feng flew into the librarian, slashing at her with catlike claws, ripping through the freikorp armour. Alice fell to the ground with a piercing scream. Thinking the librarian dead, Mei Feng turned her attention towards the sisters, "What are you two doing here?!" With Mei Feng focused on the twins, Alice focused her mind, closing her wounds with healing energies, pulled out her hunting knife and slashed at the back of Mei Fengs legs with a miss as Mei Feng intuitively dodged out the way. The Viktorias drew their swords and charged towards Mei Feng with a roar. Vanessa readied her arcane staff, Mei Feng was a sitting duck. Just as she was about to unleash a leyline charged ball of arcane energy at the foundry leader, Johan slapped down onto her staff with his hand, "Stop! You could hit Alice!" Vanessa froze in shock, "I, I didn't see her!" "We need to help her!" exclaimed Johan as he lifted his unwieldy hammer and started to run over to Alice and Mei Feng. "Aaaahhh!" Johan swung round to see Vanessa was now on fire. Mei Fengs totem, the emberling had charged at Vanessa out of nowhere and was swirling around her. As Viktoria was about to leap at Mei Feng, both masamunes drawn, she saw something massive rocketing towards her on her right. The rail golem came crashing out into the open through the trees with the speed and power of a freight train, slamming his rail line of a club into the ground, inches away from Viktoria, the force of the slam knocking Viktoria off her feet. She looked up and saw the club coming straight for her head, with inhuman dexterity, she flicked herself out of harms way and back onto her feet. She glanced to her left, her twin and the student had made the charge and were locked in melee with Mei Feng, swords and claws slashing and clanging into each other. She turned her attention back at the behemoth coming at her for a second round. She mumbled to herself, "Time to keep my oath" and leaped out of the way of the rail line steel that came crashing down towards her. Then, before the golem could stand up straight from its own arching swing, Viktoria had leaped onto its back and buried both magical blades down through its neck, into its torso. Viktoria somersaulted off the front of the golem ripping out both blades, sending a swirl of hot coal and fire into the air behind her, whilst the golem let out a deep groan and slumped into the ground. Viktoria landed on both feet and leapt into melee to aid her sisters against Mei Feng. --- Johan dived into Vanessa, exploding through the swirl of fire created by the dancing emberling, sending himself and Vanessa crashing into the dirt. Johan sprung to his knees, whipping off his cloak and used it suffocate the fire engulfing Vanessa. He grabbed his relic hammer and swung around onto his feet, hammer stretched out, but missed the elemental. Vanessa, angered by the emberling, stood to her feet with her short sword drawn and lunged at the fiery aggressor, stabbing it and sending out a spew of hot coal and fire out its back. The emberling let out a high pitched scream and spat out a ball of fire onto Vanessa, setting her duster alight again, though this time Vanessa kept fighting the elemental through the burning. She swung at the emberling again, slicing through its head, causing it to explode into black smoke. Johan glinted through the black smoke to see a scrawny man with a wheel barrow, then a cylindrical red object landing not too far from him and Vanessa. "Fire in the hole!". BOOM! --- "What was that?!", Lisa and Tasha thought they were the only ones using explosives. "I don't know" said Lisa, "but we better get on with it". The two ronin had reached the warehouse and 'dropped' enough discriminating evidence against the Ten Thunders on the way. "I hope we have enough dynamite left after dropping so many on the way here, this warehouse is sturdy". "That's why we throw the dynamite inside, stupid!" exclaimed Lisa. Lisa then carefully pried open a window with her short blade, trying not to make as little noise as possible, in case someone or something was inside. --- The student swung her sword with all her might at Mei Fengs legs, but missed as the martial expert jumped over the blade, twisting into a jackhammer kick that sent the little apprentice flying through the air and into the dirt with a thud and puff of dust. "Oh no you don't!" exclaimed Viktoria at Mei Feng, as she slashed with lightning speed at Mei Feng, who managed to side step most of the blow, with the sword only skimming her side for minor damage. Mei Feng retaliated with cat like swipes of her smoldering metal claws, slashing both Viktorias. The twin with both swords swung at Mei Feng with a whirlwind of steel blades, cutting Mei Feng across the chest with the first blade, but missing with the second as Mei Feng misdirected the blade off her steel claws into the other Viktoria. Viktoria staggered and fell to one knee, bleeding profusely out of her stomach. --- Johan found himself on the ground covered in dirt, he pulled himself up along the shaft of his hammer that stood upright, head in the ground. He could see Vanessa lying in the dirt, just outside the crater of the explosion. She looked dead. Off to the distance, he could see the scrawny man planting dynamite in the ground. Johan didn't care what Willie was doing, he wanted to get Vanessa and get her to safety. He staggered towards Vanessa, picked her up, she was black all over and bleeding from the head. Johan slung Vanessa over his shoulder and made a run for safety through the tall grass towards the rendezvous point. --- Lisa and Tasha positioned themselves defensively outside the window, each of them lighting a fuse attached to a kindle of dynamite. The two young mercenaries threw their charged bundles of dynamite through the window of the warehouse in unison. And then ran as fast as they possibly could into a safe distance from the building. "Ten, nine, eight, seven", Tasha started counting down, anticipating the explosion, "six, five, four " BOOM! The dynamite exploded, blowing out the entire back of the warehouse in spectacular fashion. The two ronin then headed for the rendezvous point, which was in the direction of the Malifaux Exploration Society. --- Alice had managed to bring herself to full health while Mei Feng was occupied with the sisters, and now, the sisters needed her help. One of the twins was flat on the ground in a pool of blood. If she could heal her, she knew the twin would be okay. She had seen her survive worse. Alice walked towards the melee with both hands out uttering an old language. Healing energies flowed out of her hands and into the twins, closing up the cuts on the twin still fighting Mei Feng, but no movement was coming from the sister on the floor. Then, just as Mei Feng was about to send a burning steel fist through the standing sisters chest, she was floored by a sweeping kick from the sister on the floor, who then sprung to both feet. "It's done! The ronin have done it! Let's get out of here!" shouted both Viktorias in unison towards Alice, and with that, they leaped out of reach of Mei Feng, who was still getting back onto her feet. One of the twins picked up the unconscious student as they ran towards the rendezvous point. As they were running, the Viktorias looked back to see if Alice was behind them. She was not. Through the smoke and the flame of the burning warehouse, they could see the larger rail worker with the massive shovel dragging Alice's body away. "We need to get her! She could still be alive!" Shouted Viktoria as she pulled out her pistol and started towards the fiery seen. "No! She's gone! Leave her!" Johan's voice came out of the dark, Viktoria turned around to see him pointing to the far right, where dozens of rail workers were running to the scene of the crime. Behind Johan were the two Ronin and at his feet was Vanessa, "We need to get her to a healer, now." End.

We did a video of Rasputina versus the ice queen I thought everyone might enjoy on my Command Combat Battle Reports show. If you're interested in us doing some more, let me know what type of characters you'd like to see done. Hope you like it. Happy gaming everybody!