Ironsides Family/Armstrong/Defeats the Chief Undead

Armstrong defeats the Chief Undead

Another tale told by the people of Dulbin, detailing more stories of the young knight Armstrong Ironsides, who would become the Hero of the Democracy. This one entails an undead invasion of the Morshes.

The people of that region were lacking adventurers and heroes, and a gruesome swarm of undead rose up out of their graves to harass and violence the peasants. The peasants’ attempts to fight off the revived dead were returned with devastation and carnage. In desperation, they sent out distress signals to any region which was able to aid them.

The Count of Dulbin heard the news from the Morshes and spread it to his knights, who then told their scribes, and scouts, who then told the farmhands and maids, who then told their families and friends until finally word reached the Ironsides Apiary where Armstrong lived. As a young knight with little combat experience, his ears danced at the distress signal.

Armstrong organized and recruited a unit of brave Dulbanic men who fought under the banner known as the Roughnecks. Together they were determined to free the Morshes from the Undead.

The trip down from Dulbin was a day long, and they frequently saw refugees escaping the horror of the undead in the Morshes. As each peasant passed, the Roughnecks tried to get information on the size and composition of their enemy. Little information was gained, bits and pieces, but what was clear from every fleeing soul was that the undead were commanded by a particularly disgusting and brutish beast that happened to have a name they knew, Bullgudor.

The peasants cringed when they said his name, and it was usually followed by a string of curses and foul words. The Roughnecks took this as a sign that this was the beast they needed to slay to rid the land of the undead. Armstrong put the name to memory, thinking that very soon Bullgudor would cringe at the sound of his own name.

The Roughnecks arrived in the Morshes and found a small Inn at the border where they stayed and refreshed themselves. Here they spoke to the innkeeper who told them all about the horror stories he heard from the escaping peasants. He was sad that the Morshes was unable to defend itself, but thankful that the Roughnecks were valiant enough to travel all the way to fight for the region. The Roughnecks, a newly formed and inexperienced unit, was as determined as ever to face their first combat mission.

When the morning arrived, the unit reformed and took to the path to travel further inland. As they marched, they began to see more fleeing commoners. This time these ones were in a greater hurry than the ones prior. It became apparent that the threat was much more immediate. One terrified butcher came panicking into the battle group wailing over the occupation of his homestead. He continually repeated that his wife was dead and his baby daughter was trapped in the house. This was a task for the Roughnecks to set right.

First they got as much information on the lay about of the homestead, then, all the butcher could tell of the numbers and make up of the undead. They learned that it was a decently sized group and most of all, Bullgudor was among them.

The Roughnecks left the butcher to safety and marched in the direction of their prey.

As they neared the homestead, they saw smoke rise in the distance where the cottage of the butcher would be. They then noticed that half of the home was on fire and the undead were milling about destroying anything they could get their hands on. The first alarm the unit raised was the location of the little girl. Unknown it was, they could not see her anywhere. So, they quickly got into formation and attacked the undead.

The battle was short and effective. Though the full force of the undead was not neutralized, and Bullgudor was not found. The Roughnecks burst into the cottage and found the little girl unconscious in the storage room, the least smoky area. As they were extracting the little girl from the burning home, the remaining undead rallied and attacked. This time, Bullgudor led the assault.

At the front of the scrambling beast unit, Bullgudor roared and hissed at the Roughnecks, who formed into combat positions, with Armstrong at their lead. The brave fighting men clashed into the vile creatures and the slaughter began. At first, a few of the Roughnecks took hits and were wounded while the undead pressed on. Then after one warrior fell, the Roughnecks pushed harder and began to eliminate the beasts. After forty minutes of thrashing and slaying, the undead were wiped out save for Bullgudor. This one, they saved for last.

Armstrong squared off with the Chief Undead, who was fully aware of the clash. Bullgudor raised his sword and screeched a pitched sound towards Armstrong, who returned with a mighty battlecry. Armstrong rattled his sword against his shield and began to step closer to the beast. Bullgudor sheathed his sword and plucked a spear from near him, then threw it towards Armstrong. With quick reaction and skill, Armstrong blocked the spear with his shield knocking it to the ground. Armstrong stepped closer. Bullgudor groaned, unsheathed his sword and began to step closer. The chief undead knew his fate was through.

The two exploded into speed and precision as the swords met with each blink of the eye. Bullgudor, strong and aggressive, was being countered by the sleek well defined technique of Armstrong. After a few rounds of attack and defend, Armstrong took an advantage conceded by the beast to remove his arm. Bullgudor screamed in anger and pain, dropping his sword he dove onto Armstrong. Our hero began to stab the chief undead’s chest having gore and blood pour out. When the duel was over, Bullgudor was hanging off of Armstrong’s shoulder completely empty inside. Armstrong had removed every organ and bone in the monsters chest. Armstrong shrugged the beast off his shoulder and spat in its face. Bullgudor was no more and the Morshes were saved from the undead horde.

This was the very first heroic act Armstrong Ironsides committed, and the very first battle the Roughnecks engaged in. So the story goes...