She was crouched in the burned out wreckage of her caravan home. Her dress was filthy and absent-mindedly she brushed at the dirt, knowing that her mother would be cross with her for getting so dirty. Her face was tear streaked, barely old enough to walk Bella had been lucky to survive the slavers attack.
The youngest daughter of Maverick, the leader of the travelling entertainers, Bella had been hidden away when the slavers attacked. Her father and the other men from the caravan had fought to defend their homes and their women and children, but they had been overrun.
Before her mother was taken she had hidden Bella in a secret compartment in the floor of the caravan. Bella had managed to escape her hidey-hole before the slavers set fire to the wagon, but with nowhere to go and no one to look after her she had stayed close by until the rain had doused the fire.
It had been days since then and the little girl had eaten nothing; she simply clung to the hopes that her parents would return and find her. She hugged her stuffed rabbit close to her chest and peeked out from her hiding place. A sudden noise however caused her to retreat quickly. Panicked she burrowed deeper into the ash-covered remains of the wagon, her breathing shallow, fresh tears staining her dirt-streaked cheeks. Something was coming for her... something with teeth!
Meanwhile...
Siegfried was in love. Valeria was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, raised by the travellers she was an outcast from her tribe, her mother was an elf, her father a man. Her tribe had refused to accept the child and she had been given away to be raised by gypsies. The head of the travelling circus, a shrewd and cunning thief by the name of Maverick, had quickly discovered the child’s talent for magic, raising her as a windtalker, a shaman. Much of her magic was devoted to the reading of signs and future prediction, but she also used elemental control to create more impressive spectacles during the shows.
Valeria, was not so enamoured with Siegfried. While she was grateful that he had rescued her, she felt it had been more through luck than skill and she doubted he would prove to be of much further help to her, although she had not told him this when he had offered to come with her and look for her people.
It had been days since the slavers had attacked and she held out little hope that there would be any sign of survivors, but she owed it to her family to make sure. The campsite was just beyond the treeline and the farmboy was scouting on ahead, signalling back that he could sense movement. In the clearing beyond lay the ashen ruins of the caravan, wooden beams stripped of their panels and cloths by fire, lay exposed like the great rib cage of some long dead beast. Shadowy forms moved all around. There could be only one explanation; someone was still alive inside...
But what are those shadowy scavengers that are seeking to find Bella? Well that’s up to you. This month’s challenge is to paint one or more miniatures that would be found at a battle site after the main attackers had left. This could be some kind of scavengers, such as rats, wolves, beetles, zombies or it could be the rear guard of the attacking force (the slavers from this month). As usual up to 50% of the models you paint must be from Otherworld.
Bonus Point: Paint a model to represent the young human girl Bella
Next Month: I will update this section in 7 days when the poll closes.
Don’t forget you can also join our
painting pledge just pledge to paint at least 1 Otherworld mini a month for the rest of year and have the other community members help keep you on track.
Finally don’t forget to check out your ranking in the scoreboard which can be found at the top of the Painting Pledge thread. It’s never too late to join in and get involved.
Spoils of War, April Painting Challenge 2012
