From NoelW: The Armoury: 82 points

Somewhere in the dimly perceived depths of the Chambers of Challenge Merlissa is squinting into her crystal ball. She sees a party of five adventurers, flee the Gallery of Ancestors and slam the door heavily behind them as a collective noun of statues creaks into life. She sees them stumble into the Armoury. She smiles to herself.

The Armoury is filled with orcs rampaging around like gorillas on tequila, gathering helmets, breastplates, vanbraces, ordinary braces, bucklers, swashbucklers, buckets, bascinets, bows and bright shiny beads, falchions and halbeds, scimitars and poignards, and the occasional pointed remark and heaping them in an untidy pile in the centre of the room.

“At last!” cries Titchy. “A pile of Treasure!”

Everyorc stops what they’re doing, and turns round to view the newcomers.

“I mean,” says Titchy hastily. “There’s plenty to go round isn’t there. Lots to do. Why don’t we lend you a hand?”

Casually he picks up an odd dagger and tosses it to the base of the pile.

It falls well short with a deafening “Ting!”

The tallest orc, Gnawbone, (why yes, it is he!), scowls then growls. Menacingly the orcs close in on the five adventurers.

“It’s us, Gnawbone. Don’t you recognise us now you’re two people tall?”

The orcs continue to advance. With added menace.

Merlissa’s smile has become a grin.

But at that moment a clamour arrives from the far side of the chamber, coming from the exit leading to the Hatchery. Dozens of soldiers bearing white shields stream in, shouting their battle cries and immediately laying into the orcs.

“We need to get out of here!” screams Elfbow.

Merlissa’s smile is now wide enough to be classified as at least two grins, if not two and a half. This is going to be better than anyone could have expected. Soon there will be five ex-interlopers face down amongst the gorgets, sallets, cuisses and poleyns. And the blood.

She watches Elfbow stumble over a stray guisarme, falling against the pile of armour, which crashes down with a crash, surprisingly. Reaching out to stop his fall, he grabs a spear. A golden spear. 

No! 

It cannot be!

Not that golden spear!

Not the Spear of Density!

Merlissa shrieks in horror, and is so startled by her own shriek that she drops her crystal ball. 

"Didn’t foresee that, did you?" flashes the message on the ball as it rolls away.

That spear shouldn’t be there. And it most definitely shouldn’t now be in the moronic hand of a stupid elf. Now, whoever kills the adventurers, that spear will end up in someone’s hands. The wrong hands. She can’t have that. She hates the idea. Grimvizaj would really hate the idea.  

Oh, botheration! Just when everything seemed to be going so well. Forget that plan, then. Come up with a new one.

Time for a sorceress, it would seem.

She can imprison them in the Oubliette. They won’t survive there for long. Then she can retrieve the spear from Elfbow’s moronic, etiolated, bony hand whenevr she feels like it.

Who would have thought it? The Spear of Density!

***

Not much to say about this post. The 12 Republican Romans are more of the same Victrix minis, except their shields are white rather than the black ones previously posted. The pile of treasure is from Terrain Crate. I tried to straighten the bend bits using warm water, but the straightening does not seem to have taken.

Scoring: 

12 x 28mm infantry: 60 points
Armoury: 20 points
Pile of treasure: 2 points? (it stands about 35mm high)

Total: 82 points