The Webway gate on the planet Sepulchre opened and Autarch Koryo Stormshadow stepped through, followed swiftly by alert Asuryani warriors of the Eiyoltan Craftworld.
”Greeting! It is good to see you back on your feet, Autarch,” Iiloran Mournsong, the Warp Spider Exarch said as he approached.
”The war with the ravagers of the Purple Pox cost us all a great deal,” Koryo replied to his friend. ”You became as sick and injured as I was. How are you healing?”
”As well as can be expected. The wraithbone grafts are necessary to halt the spread of the pox and they make us much more resilient, but they take time to adapt to. I feel like a newcomer to the Shrine again. Do you think we will find a cure for the pox in this accursed realm?”
”Yes, the survivors of the Eiyoltan Farseer Council have scried the future paths and seen that we will find an answer here. The Necrontyr is projecting a field of unnatural dread that affects even us and most of the troops are new recruits to cover for the losses from the Purple Pox invasion. But we need to survey and secure the indicated sites in these mon-keigh ruins. Take your positions and stay alert, I predict we will have company soon. And tell Warlock Daranael that we need a psychic beacon to alert the rest of our forces.”
The nervous Guardian Defenders took position on top of the tank in the central ruins, with good lines of sight of the opposite street and the Necron Immortals skulking there. The Rangers ghosted forward towards a vantage point in the ruins on the opposite flank, with Koryo Stormshadow and the Iiloran’s Warp Spiders in position to secure the ruins behind them. The Warlock Daranael led the Dire Avengers into cover in the centre. Opposite them, the Skorpekh Destroyers and the Technomancer hid in the ruins opposite the Dire Avengers, with the Necron Overlord and Immortals out on the flank opposite the Guardians.
The Necron Overlord and Skorpekh Destroyers moved forward under cover from the ruins as the Immortals fired on the Guardians. Daranael protected the Guardians by jinxing the Immortals’ weapons and only two Guardians fell. The Dire Avengers moved towards the ruins with the Guardians as the Warp Spiders secured the first site. The Rangers and Guardians fired on the Immortals and massed shuriken fire from the Dire Avengers cut apart the first Skorpekh Destroyer.
The Overlord kept advancing into cover in the ruins below the Guardians and the Destroyers retreated back to secure a site. The Immortals hit back hard against the Guardians, despite being jinxed again by Daranael, and the surviving unnerved Guardians fled.
The Dire Avengers tried to take their name literal and their matchless agility enabled them to traverse the ruins and target the Overlord. But despite their immense shrunken fire, they only managing to wound him and his living metal body regenerated. The Warp Spiders advanced on the right flank towards the Destroyers. The Ranger’s long rifles didn’t have any effect on the Skopekh Destroyers, but Koryo teleported closer and melted another construct to slag with his Dragon fusion gun.
The Overlord, Immortals and Technomancer shot and killed three of the Dire Avengers before the Overlord charged. But in order to have range to the Dire Avengers, the Technomancer and his bodyguard Crypthralls exposed themselves out of cover. Against the odds, two of the expertly trained and equipped Aspect Warriors survived the blows of the Overlord. The last Skorpekh Destroyer moved behind cover towards the Immortals and Koryo secured the site that had just been secured by the Skorpekh Destroyer. The Warp Spiders teleported into cover closer to the Technomancer. The Dire Avengers feigned a retreat from the regenerating Overlord and instead targeted the Crypthralls, killing one. Daranael and the Rangers also targeted the Technomancer, but their shots were intercepted by the last Crypthralls, who died protecting their master.
The Overlord chased after the Dire Avengers, and combined fire with the Technomancer to wipe them out. The Immortals targeted Daranael and took him out of action. Koryo used the distraction of the Dire Avengers and Daranael to teleport behind the last Skorpekh Destroyer and melt it with a well placed fusion blast. The Warp Spiders had also teleported into firing range and used their death spinners to destroy the Technomancer. However, the destruction of the mechanoid activated its resurrection protocols and brought him back from the brink of death.
The Overlord and Technomancer retreated out of sight behind the tank, as Koryo and the Warp Spiders advanced on the Immortals. Death spinners and long rifles did not manage to kill all of them, and a charging Koryo failed to take any more down. But the Overlord acknowledged that the Aeldari had the upper hand and teleported his troops away. The Asuryani had a close win, as the cost in Aeldari life was steep.
Koryo was surveying the surrounding area from the peak of a ruin, as Iiloran approached again.
”Daranael will recover, but I sense a growing anger within him after his injuries. The Guardians are even more unnerved after their casualties, but will recover physically,” Iiloran reported.
”Sad news for such great warriors,” Koryo replied. ”We shall keep an eye on them. But we learned a great deal about these new Necron types. I am glad we never had to face those three-legged machines in close combat, they looked utterly lethal. We will return to the Webway gate to await reinforcements and then investigate these anomalous readings the Rangers found ahead of us.”
