Of tree trolls and bears- a Silver Bayonet Narrative #3

 More narrative Silver Bayonet? Don't mind if I do....

'Did you know I fought a werebear once?'

The children had been nagging him all day for another story. It seemed that rather than having the desired effect of scaring them so much that they never wanted to talk to him again, it only made them more curious, more inquisitive and if anything, more irritating.

And so it was that he was once again entertaining the children, their parents uninterested in the level of disruption the children's intrusion and incessant questions were having on his wellbeing.

'And it was bigger than that one too' he added, pointing to the leering bear's head trophy, mounted to the wall. 'Stop bouncing on the chair, sit down, and I'll tell you about it....

With the White Lady's return, we had once again become a part of the great war against the Harvestman.

At the insistence of the Lady, we were out in the trackless Polish forests, searching for a shrine of ancient power that held some form of key to defeating our enemies. 

Days had passed since us entering the forests, and the men were growing restless. It was then that we found the first Russian- I recognised what remained of his blood soaked uniform from the soldiers I had fought beside at the Leipzig. His torso had been crushed, and by all counts his body had started to be reclaimed by the tree he slumped against. After an examination, Doctor Landa could offer no keener insight than Gunter, who simply offered "Must have been big".

We pressed on, deeper into the woods. It wasn't more than an hour before we found the second corpse, just as maimed as the first, and also seeming to be being dragged into a nearby tree. This seemed to brook no response from the White Lady, beyond an excited tone in her voice as she announced "we are getting close"...

Suddenly, the woods thinned out to reveal an old cobbled road and buildings, long given over to the forest. 

It was Jager Mott who spotted the Russians first, the light of their burning torches giving their positions away. 

"Quickly, the fools mean to destroy the shrine. They cannot be allowed to succeed, not before I learn what there is to be learned from it, Move now Captain, get there first"

I quickly relayed the White Lady's words to the men, and they spread out, taking cover behind the trees. I head the steady crack of Mott's rifle, followed by a howl of pain from ahead of us. 

As I advanced, I got the first clear view of the shrine. A tall, gnarled tree with an altar next to it, stained red with blood. Around it at regular intervals were tall trees, their trunks rising high into the sky. 

The shrine and altar

Gunter was the first to reach the shrine, grabbing a piece of paper to take down a rubbing of the symbols etched into the bark of the tree.

He yelled in suprise as the earth next to the tree rose up, revealing a hulking brute that pushed Gunter away from the shrine.

"Tree troll" Gunter said with a grunt, and set to laying about it with his axe. All thoughts of the shrine lost in the swirling melee as troll and pioneer fought to lay the other low.

Tree troll vs Pioneer!

The bout didn't last long, with an expert swing of his axe, Gunter neatly decapitated the troll, it's head dropping at his feet, it's body still standing, before falling what felt like an eternity later. 

It had seemed like time had slowed as I watched Gunter fight the tree troll, and once it fell I was acutely aware of the musket fire from my men being returned by the Russians ahead of us. The White Lady had by this time also reached the shrine, taking her own notes of the symbols carved into the wood.

Advancing upon the shrine

A burly Russian carrying a flaming torch was running towards the shrine, his arsonist intent clear. Soldat Duval stepped forth to intercept him, running him through with his bayonet before the torch could touch the shrine. 

Duval's victory was short lived, he stepped back in alarm as the earth moved beneath him, stirred into life by the fallen torch. A great arm rose up from the earth to grab Duval, and as the rest of the Tree Troll appeared it tossed him some twenty feet to crash into a far away tree.

Poor Soldat Duval never even knew what hit him....

As we fought the second Tree Troll, the Russians had taken this opportunity to advance on our position, firing indiscriminately on us and the troll.

It was then that I saw a most hideous sight. I spotted a man, shaggy and unkept, with a great beard and fire red eyes. His mouth moved as he pronounced an incantation, and I watched as his skin moved, shifted and grew. A howl of pain reverberated from his throat, morphing into a roar of sheer rage as the man grew to a giant bear some ten foot tall.

The roar of the Werebear! 

The Werebear locked eyes with me. The red eyes bore no resemblance to the human in who's shape it had once been. With a roar, the bear loped forward, directly towards me, heedless of the musketry unleashed upon it. Soldat Oberhauser was the first in it's path, the Werebear raked it's claws across him as it barged past, knocking him aside and breaking his arm in the process.

I fired both of my pistols, one after the other, hoping that the silver shot that the White Lady had given me would prove as effective against a Werebear as they had against a werewolf in my youth.

"Wait, a werewolf? You haven't told us about a werewolf" the eldest of the children interrupted.

What do you mean what werewolf? Haven't I told you that one already? Hmmm, another time perhaps, be thankful you are getting this story before asking for another"

The Werebear rose above me, it's claws still dripping with Oberhauser's blood. My pistols spent, I drew my rapier, hoping that my superior speed might be enough.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh"- Werebear

I know it doesn't look it right now children, but your uncle was once a faster man and my sword was once a weapon feared by all those who opposed me.

The bear lunged, it's claws raking my side. I still carry the scars of it's fury to this day, despite the ministrations of Doctor Landa and the magicks of the White Lady.

But in lunging as it did, the bear left itself open and vulnerable to a counter thrust deep into it's heart. And so quick as a flash, I drove the blade deep into the giant praying that I struck something vital, enough to stall the beast's rage. 

Our combat was interrupted by yet another Tree Troll emerging from the ground next to us- the Werebear reared onto it's hind legs, me and my little sword forgotten compared to a much bigger and better challenger.

Now children, many foolish and brave men will tell you that there is dishonour in running away from such a bout. But let me tell you this, as soon as the White Lady said that she had collected all she needed, I was the first to yell for the retreat.

Dishonour holds no place when fighting beasts such as these, your only hope is to honour the living for whom you protect by defeating them. And on that day, learning what we could from the shrine was a great step forward towards the ultimate defeat of the Harvestmen....

Notes

This mission was the scenario found in Wargames Soldiers in Strategy, with the Tree Troll representing the Guardian Beast. It's an immensely fun scenario, especially when the Guardian Beast kept popping up in exactly the right tree to be a complete and utter nuisance for me! It was also the debut of Tank's Russians, including the fearsome Werebear, a foe Captain Leichhardt is sure to come up against once again.....

Pooch