Zulus make a very annoying din when they’re charging a surprised
target. Fortunately, that sound has long ago faded away behind us. Now we’re on
the slopes of Piper’s Peak, an uncertain road that darts off in random directions,
lined with weird and wonderful statues, of strange shapes and almost
unimaginable oddity.
From the peak we’ll have a view of Rousell’s Sandhill, the
next (or previous) step we remember taking on our journey. It shouldn’t take
long to reach that vantage.
But as we’re shuffling up the path, we hear footsteps ahead,
and a party of bedraggled soldiers trots rapidly towards us, carrying a
stretcher.
“Go back!” the lead soldier shouts, as they approach, “if
you’ve got any sense, go back. It’s on the loose. It’ll tear you apart.”
This doesn’t sound too promising.
“What are you talking about?”
“Lady Sarah’s Peke. It’s vicious. It savaged our corporal.”
He gestures to the wounded man on the stretcher.
“Don’t be silly, young man,” a commanding female voice
objects. Lady Sarah has followed them down the hillside. “The poor dog barely
licked him. You shouldn’t have been teasing him with those big sticks you’re
carrying.”
“That dog needs psychiatric treatment,” interjects another
of the soldiers. “It bites first and asks questions afterwards.”
“Nonsense,” says Lady Sarah, “Snowy is just a little
over-friendly. All Pekinese are.”
“I’m not convinced it’s a Pekinese at all.”
“If I say it’s a Peke, then it’s a Peke,” Lady Sarah has
that look again. “Snowy! Where are you Snowy? Heel!”
“Anything you say, your royal ladyshipness. But with your
permission, we’re getting out of here.”
With a hasty look over their shoulders, the soldiers lift
their burden and hurtle down the hillside.
“Where can he possibly be hiding? I must get him back in his
basket. The balloon can’t lift off without that. There’s already a queue of
bamboozled wanderers desperate for my assistance. Snowy! Treats!”
She looks at us meaningfully.
There’s a huge roar in the undergrowth, a crushing of
vegetation worthy of a T Rex line dancing, and the Pekinese comes
bounding out, it’s tongue lolling from its mouth, and spittle scattering to the
four winds. At once, he leaps upon my sergeant, sending him head first into the
dust.
“Snowy! Snowy! Put that poor man down! Oh dear. He doesn’t
mean anything by it. I’m sure you’ll be able to get another sergeant easily
enough...”
---
To satisfy Mz Piper’s
requirement this little vignette uses more Cape Wars British, with their peaked caps, sculpted
by the Perrys to emulate a well-known picture from the conflict:
But I thought it was a little lame just to use troops of the same kind as my first trip, so I’ve introduced a second kind of Peke, which I hope will
please Tamsin. Admittedly, he’s probably not a thoroughbred, there’s pretty
obviously a hint of bull mastiff somewhere in his ancestry, but I’m certain
no-one will notice.
Lady Sarah, of course, is dressed in her dog-walking
clothes, a tatty old thing which she just threw on for the purpose. Actually,
it’s about time a certain Snowlord took one or two of the hints that’ve been
floating in the air lately and opened his wallet to do something about that wardrobe, which is so very clearly
lodged firmly in 2018, almost an embarrassment to wear in contemporary dog-walking
circles.
As usual I’ve forgotten who manufactured the figures, apart
from the Cape Wars figures by the Perrys. The mastiff is one of a set of dogs
which I’ve a feeling came from a Ainsty, even though they’re not a figures
manufacturer – whilst Lady Sarah is a lovely elegant pewter souvenir figure bought
from a bring and buy, dressed in what I take to be Edwardian costume (which shows what
I know about fashion!) but in my games she's as likely to appear both in the Duchess of Richmond's Ball in 1815 as on the dancefloor in 1930s Walmington on Sea.
Score: I think prone figures are 2 points, so that’s how I’d
count the stretcher. 1 x 28mm dog and 6 x
28mm people: total 37 points.
--------
By Paul:
Personally, I find yellow to be the single most difficult colour to paint. I would never even attempt an all yellow gown such as that but you have nailed it beautifully Noel!
37 points plus 30 for the map location - 67 points of this great submission, just keep Snowy on a leash!
Edited by TamsinP - the location bonus points were added by mistake (this is Noel's 2nd visit to the location) and have now been removed.
