At Ottenheim ...

continued from the previous post ...

They had made good time and arrived safely at Ottenheim in the early afternoon; early in the evening Steffen Hofler decided to stretch his legs - so he went for a walk.  Having seen what there was of the small burgh town he started on his way back the inn where he was staying....

 As he entered a small square a woman's voice shouted "Watch Out" and he was pulled rather roughly behind a pile of crates...

 just in time too, as the sound of of pistol and musket in fire in the square broke the quiet of the evening.....

 Not knowing what he had got into, assuming the lady was in trouble, Steven drew his sword and bravely took on one of the men in the square ...

 He had the better of him and the other fellow was looking worried .... other men were running from the square under fire from a group of women ...

 Steffen parried and then made to lunge, but slipped and fell to the floor ....

He picked himself up and found his opponent was gone. The woman who pulled him out of the way introduced herself as Mademoiselle Givenchy along with her lady Irregulars in the service of the crown.  She explained he had walked in on an ambush laid for Sennari's Marauders...

She thanked him for his help and he made his way back to the inn,  deciding to have a drink of before he went to bed. He had something eventful to write in his journal and a tale to tell .....

On to Bleistadt ...

continued from the previous post ....

After a couple of days, a small incident disrupted their progress. They were now deep in the province of Boldovia and late one morning they were approached by a group of Feldjagers; some of the Boldovian army corps were on manouvres and they were advised to wait a short while.  A few minutes later a brigade of cavalry crossed the road ....

 After the road was clear they travelled on and in the mid-afternoon they reached Bleistadt ...

after passing through the main gate they found some lodgings for the night.

They would resume their journey the next day, heading south-east via Erlangen in order to cross into Upper Belgravia to get to Offenheim and then onto their final destination at Vanderhof.

Stopover at Wornitz ....

continue from the previous post......

It had been a good couple of days ride through Wittenland province. He decided to break his journey at Wornitz. Crossing the bridge over the Kusten canal, he entered the town ...

Following a good nights rest at a local inn,  he went for a walk in the afternoon and made the acquaintance of a young lady and her aunt who were also travelling to Vanderhof ...

The next day, back in the saddle, he continued his journey on the road south accompanying the ladies in their coach...

 He still had a fair way to go - the province of Boldovia to cross, then into to Upper Belgravia and down to Vanderhof on the river Oudear.

Departure....

continue from the previous post...... Steffen Hofler, Marquess of Kronstadt starts his journey .....

---oXo---

The young Marquess meets up with his close friends at the Kurfurstin Inn in Wittenberg for a celebratory drinking evening ....

Following his evening out he stayed a couple of days with his parents at their estate near Alt-Wittenberg. After saying his goodbyes he rode off on his long journey south to Vanderhof ...

A commission in the army .....

The start of a story line in which a young noble receives a commission as an officer in the army, travels to take up his post, takes part in his first action and ...... 

For the story picture I'll use figures and sundry items from my 28mm and 40mm collections.

---oXo---

The young Steffen Hofler, Marquess of Kronstadt, had placed his name on the army commission list and had heard nothing for months. Then one day he received a letter from the offices of Count Hermann of Munster asking him to come to the palace - there was a opening for an officer....


The Marquess on reaching Wittenberg palace asked directions from one of the guards ...

 He made his way through the entrance hall ....

 and then upstairs to the office of Count Hermann Munster, where after a short wait he was ushered in. The Count greeted him warmly. Come sit down, I have a officer's commission for you in the army..

 after finding out the details, the Marquess accepted the commission.  The Marquess was pleased - he had received the command of a new battalion of Pandours which would be part of the Boritzy Friekorps.

The Marauders return ...

Sennari, who has recovered after being wounded in his last encounter with the Irregulars (see here), leads his Marauders on a mission to get the key spy Von Stahling and his daughter across the border to safety in Monrovia. 

Madame Givenchy and her Irregulars are working with Captain Scharfe and a detachment of jagers to intercept them as they try to reach the Monrovian border post at Nitteldorf.

---oXo---

Sennari and his Marauders gather at the Inn....

 Scharfe and Givenchy decide where to deploy ...

 Scouts report back to Sennari ....

 Madame Givenchy spots some movement by the Inn ...

 Sennari and his men move off ...

 Shots are exchanged after the lead men cross the ford ....

 Gievenchy and her Irregulars, with support from a couple of jagers engage the Marauders ....

 The Marauders push through, the coach making headway down the road....

 Meanwhile a group of Marauders are clearing a way past the Mill ....

 The coach lurches forward at full tilt onto the bridge; Scharfe and his men fire a couple of shots and then dodge out of the way ....

 The Marauders continue their fight with the Irregulars, Givenchy is wounded and is carried back down the side road ....

 The coach races onwards towards the border post, as the Marauders reach the bridge ....

Sennari leads a small group of Marauders through the field by the side of the road, with them is Von Stahling and his daughter

 The exchange of fire back and forth across the hedges continues as Sennari leads his group forward ....

 The coach arrives at the Monrovian border post, the border guard find it empty and the driver badly wounded ...

 Sennari watches the fighting by the road and bridge; the group of Marauders who went via the mill are now crossing the river ....

A jager sniper in the rocks picks off a couple of the Marauders ...

Sennari's group crosses the river ....

Sennari and his men deal with a couple of Irregulars who were hidden in a small copse ...

Sennari leads Von Stahling and his daughter to safety at the border post, the leader of the group which went via the mill waves to him ...

---oXo---

Sennari and his Marauders succeeded in their mission, but lost half their number in the process.  Both Scharfe and Givenchy were wounded - they lost a few Irregulars and a couple of jagers.

Happy Xmas ...

The King has obtained (via the Spanish Ambassador) more llamas, this time some of a smaller species plus a strange curiosity.

The King has presented a llama mascot to the guard grenadiers ....

The King has a pet project - llamas for military use.  Here a feldjager is trying out how they are to ride ....

 A strange curiosity has been added to the palace menagerie - a rare Push-me-pull-you

"I've never seen anything like it in my life" - exclaims Count Herman

As preparations are made for the festive season, the palace llamas get their own Xmas tree .....

A Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to All