[Trumanator]

It was a dark time for Marignon. The voodoo ritualists and spider worshipers of Machaka had struck without warning, and with devastating result. This might be the final battle. Crossbowmen shouldered their weapons and the Knights of the Chalice prayed with all their hearts.

The day of battle. As they looked upon the opposing army, with its swarms of archers and masses of grotesque and monstrous spiders, all hope seemed lost. The Grand Inquisitors prepared the knights however, and the crossbows loosed their bolts. They inflicted grievous damage, but the arrows of machaka fell among themselves as well, cutting them down like wheat before the scythe.

As the spiders reached the lines of knights however, it was as if they met a brick wall. Their riders stabbed with lances, and their mounts tried the same with their fangs. The Knights were tireless however, and plied lance and sword to deadly effect, striking down spider, rider, or hoplite for the Lord. The crossbows fled, but the knights remained. Some fell, but many remained, and finally their foes tired, and fled.

The Grand Inquisitor Tomaso surveyed the ravaged field, and breathed a heavy sigh as he contemplated the next battle.