From NoelW: Enter the Larder: (139 points)

 “At last! At last!” Titchy squeaks like an excited chew-toy. “We enter the Sanctum Sanctorum!”

“Keep it down, Titchy, They’ll hear.”

 “Over all those fireworks they’re letting off? I don’t think so. No, Gnawbone. Heel!”

Getrude gestured at the barricade across the only door: a pile of boxes, bags, torn scrolls and chests. With their weapons leaning against them, a dozen men in blue coats are firing their weapons into the room beyond.

“Yes, Clerihew,” Getrude mouthed. “Two syllables. Pour foot? Tip something out? Tip toe!”

Clerihew raised his thumb approvingly, and began to creep across the room.

“If we’re quiet, we can cross the room and leave without them noticing us. If only there was another way out.”

“Tiptoe? Leave? We’re in the heart of the Chambers of Challenge, the very epicentre of all that matters in the world. The Larder! Here we will find the target of our quest, the Greatest Treasure the World…”

“...is getting particularly fed up with,” growled Elfbow, “Yes, we’ve heard it all before. But what good will it do if we're surrounded by men with sharp knives and those wretched gun things?”

“It’s just a Larder,” mutters Merlissa, looking around.

“And what do larders contain but food,” continued Titchy. “And what is more magical than food? Nothing! The Treasure must be here. That great pig could be Henwen, the fortune telling pig of Penwigion.”

“Or it may simply be bacon in waiting. And I suppose that constipated goose in the pantryman’s arms is preparing to launch an infinite stream of golden eggs?”

“It might be.”

“Or it might just be developing a taste for sage and onion. And now you’re going to tell me those bananas are the Forbidden Fruit from the Garden of Eden, or the Golden Delicious of the Hesperides?”

“Might be.” Titchy scowled. “Well at the very least - let me get one of those scrolls. You can see from here they’re all recipes.”

“They're recipes for disaster, that’s what they are.”

“Could still be tasty...”

There’s a sudden flurry of gunfire, as grey shadows mass on the far side of the barricade. Merlissa takes her chance, grabs the pantryman.

“Tell us how to get out of here,” she snarls.

“Follow the dogs,” he hisses. Or it might have been the goose. "They’re lead you out of here.”

"Woof!" Scruff agrees.

Three dogs on their hind legs are carrying trays cross the room, ignored by the men with guns. They pantryman lifts a sack from the floor revealing a trapdoor hidden beneath it. Opening it, the dogs descend, quickly followed by Merlissa, Elfbow and Clerihew, with Getrude dragging Titchy behind her and the rest of the party clambering down a dark staircase, gunfire getting quieter behind them.

***

That completes the first level of the Chambers.

For the Larder I searched out a few oddments of food I could find hidden in various places in the far too extensive unpainted collection. The pantryman is a goose seller from, I think, early Citadel figures. The pig is Reaper Bones and the three dogs as waiters are Mithril figures, Beorn’s servants. 

The pile of chests is a particularly good Terrain Crate model, as is the trapdoor. The bananas are Wargames Foundry.

The defenders of the barricade are a unit of Continentals from the Revolutionary War (or AWI) made by the Perrys. I’ve painted them with the Pennsylvania 4^th in mind, as the same uniform can be used for several other units, too. However, I’m not entirely sure about the blue I’ve used. Most of the sources I’ve seen favour a dark blue, rather than the mid blue I’ve chosen. I may decide  to give them a further dark blue wash. 

The two flags are from Flags for the Lads.

Scoring:

23 x 28mm figures: 115 points
Flags: 2 pts
Terrain bits: 2 pts??
Larder: 20 pts

Total: 139 points

And 2 more Squirrel points.

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Well that is quite a characterful submission and I love the narrative. Sadly my Beagles are more up for scoffing anything they can find as fast as possible, vice serving their beloved master...  Your Continentals from the American Mutiny Revolution are lovely and I really like the mid blue jacket colour - a bit faded to show their experienced service supporting the new Republic, and the extra brightness will look great on the table I'd wager. Good stuff Noel!

Cap'n Wednesday