Vengeance is sweet!!!!

"The clash of swords is silenced
The splintering of shields is over.
The haunting cries of the wounded and dying,
Harsh, piercing cries of ravens gorged.
Pictish dead un-numbered.
Honour returns to Briton lands!

The River Glein runs red,
Her waters a charnel house of graveyard reek.
Scene of slaughter, heroic battle,
Forests of spearshafts lay waste to the Picts.
Urien avenged!
Honour returns to Briton lands.

Fierce was the charge of Llywarch's Teulu...
Unnumbered the foe,
Undaunted the Cymri,
The splintering shield-rim,
The war-song upholding
Dying like heroes for the honour of Llywarch.
Honour returns to Briton lands."

Aahhhh....you can't beat a bit of shite pseudo-Welsh poetry first thing of a morning!! They don't call me a literacy expert for nothing!!! (Err...actually, on the basis of that poem, they wouldn't call me literacy expert at all, but hey...who cares?)

Anyhoo folks, why am I writing crap poetry? Well, last night saw battle two of the 'Raiding Season' and the Britons have managed a close-run victory against Mike's Picts! Urien is almost avenged (see earlier post if you're wondering what the hell I'm on about) The river crossing is our's and now our warriors strike deep into the Pictish heartland, to plunder the spoils of war!

In a close-fought and bloody encounter, the Britons held the bridge and contested the ford. It was a game where both players went for it BIG style, where both our comitatus units were slaughtered, where the Picts' Saxon allies were rather pathetic and where both players had our share of very good and very bad dice rolls. In short, a bloody great game that tested our generalship and really went to the wire!!! (Especially when my Combrogi warbanded OFF the bridge in turn 6, leaving me from a position of victory, to a position of defeat!! Luckily, next turn - my last- they were able to pop back ON to the bridge and save my blushes!!! ) Now, THAT is what wargaming is about!!!

As usual, we forgot a couple of things in the excitement, but hey...not to worry! It balanced out in the end!

Anyway, the next game is 'The Cattle Raid', where I attempt to herd my plunder off the table and the Picts try to get it back!!!! A great fun scenario that I have played before as the attacker..and a great excuse to get my recently painted Gripping Beast cows and sheep back out onto the gaming table!!!!

On the painting front, slow progress, as I'm painting tunic decoration on Teulu and Saxons, but that'll be done by Sunday ready for leather work then the cloaks... We're getting there!!!!!

Right.. off to work....

See ya...