THis was a big day; the debut for the Troll... directed by that evil mastermind, the troll king.
The lineup: 14 crossbows plus Vrasku... 12 Uruks with shield - the tough shell that the brave men of Minis Tirith would have to crack, 16 orcs cowering behind them, with spears And on the right flank, one evil looking troll and then, lurking in the shadows, the Witch King.
And the man responsible for upholding the cause of good: Gary. New to the LOTR. Hopefully this meant he might fall to the forces of darkness. He marshalled the men of Gondor, led by that legend, Aragorn, sporting the shining sword, Anduril. Their number was 29; a terribly small huddle to be facing the Orc and Uruk masses.
Sorry about the lousy photos. The Troll-King's plans for world domination were hampered somewhat by the fact his dad forgot his camera. Duh!
The Troll-King demanded full reign over the battle, and bystanders were banished. When the war correspondents were allowed back to the field, the carnage had been great. Although not as great as the evil empire had hoped; nine men dead to vicious crossbowfire. Six uruks had succumbed to the smaller group of eight Gondor archers. (Perhaps more men will succumb in the Troll King's next battle.. now we've checked his profile and realise Vrasku hits on a 3 plus, not a 4. Duh).
The evil side were content to hold their ground, while the troll sheltered behind cover. Dozy troll should have thrown some rocks. Never mind. He was saving his strength. His laziness or his uncharacteristic intelligence served him well'; the Gondor cavalry attempted to draw him away from his anchoring position at the ruins by his forces right flank. Despite this being his first taste of action, the Troll did not leave his post.
Now 10 men are dead. The uruk corpses number seven.
Now we see Aragorn fly into the battle, headed for Vrasku. Can he turn the tide?
The carnage is great. Vrasku proves unequal to the task. His head is sliced off by the shining blade. But Aragorn is far from the action - cut off from the bulk of his troops by the Orc masses. Meanwhile the Minis TIrith elite start to falter. THe brave cavalry duo are stomped on by the Troll. One Captain triumphs against the masses of Uruks, backed up by spearmen, for dice roll seem to fall in favour of the good, rather than the numerous. Then finally the dread figure of the Witch King - who had laregly retired fomr the battle to this point, studying his horoscope or doing the cross-word perhaps, marched into battle. Perhaps out of practice, he could not summon up the evil magic to transfix Aragorn, who had again won priority. And then as Aragorn fought on the Good RIght Flank, the second Captain steps up to the dark figure. Big mistake. He succumbs.
By now, the Witch King has remembered that he is Terrifying. (he also forgot how many points it costs to buy extra might and fate, but as he used hardly any, it did not affect the outcome). The Good general has noticed the Troll is already decorated with one and a quarter Gondor bodies, and fears this is a bad omen. And although Aragorn slices his way through three or four of the multitudinous evil army, the Troll and his four companions now hacked in to the rear of the Minis Tirith lines. 15 men were now sliced up on the field, with roughly the same number of evil corpses - yet with many more to fill the gaps.
The night was now dark. The brave general of the good forces was now half an hour late for his tea. He conceded that with 15 out of a force of 29 dead, at the next move his forces would, now the Witch King held the Evil Right, be broken. The opponents made their farewells. And the Troll King savoured his latest triumph...
THe night was now dark...
- Paul, aka The Trollfather