First Blood on Dyroch's Reach

In the stiffling desert heat of Dyroch's Reach, Strike Force Bloody Fist is hunting for Drukhari pirate stragglers, when their sensors detect a massive energy spike in the vicinity. As the Battle Brothers move to investigate, they chance upon a horrendous sight - a wall of pox-infested creatures, vaguely human in form but undoubtedly daemonic in nature.

The daemonic horde is advancing quickly towards a central area of upper ground, that will give them the advantage should they take it. Captain Faradin Asto decisively orders his troops to take up positions in preparation for the coming attack. With Sergeant Gorean's Intercessors to provide covering fire, the entombed Brother Jachaeus and himself will advance towards the coming wave of minor daemons, while Sergeant Cassus will lead his Assault Intercessors in a flanking assault.

Squad Gorean quickly gets behind a small rock formation, and starts putting down suppresive bolt fire, but the constant glittering from the mineral outcroppings so common to this part of Dyroch's Reach keeps distracting the Marines and they only manage to take out a couple of enemies.

Suddenly the daemon horde starts moving with a hitherto unforeseen speed, effectively cutting off Squad Cassus from their planned flanking attack. Brother Jachaeus releases the full power of his heavy onslaught gatling cannon, and as he sprays the oncoming horde with lethal bolter fire the creatures start falling like flies. As they fall, Captain Asto spots an enemy warrior wielding a mightly scythe of Death and Disease - surely this must be the champion of the enemy forces and his primary target!

Little does the Space Marine Captain know that he is facing Lord Typhus, Lord of the Death Guard's 1st Plague Company and favoured of Nurgle. Typhos witnesses with disinterest the mowing down of his Pox Walkers, and behind his helmet what could be interpreted as a smile spreads across his putrid lips as the felled creatures start rising from the ground again. He then summons the Powers of the Warp and launches his full psychic might in a deadly assault against the Dreadnaught which is enveloped in crackling warp lightning. The Dreadnaught staggers, lurches and finally falls to the ground with a migthy thunder.

Captain Asto sees the mighty Dreadnaught go down and grits his teeth understanding that he must take out the enemy leader. "Squad Cassus, frontal assault, we must get through the wall. For The Empe-roarghh!!!" Even the now sweltering heat will not hold back the Astartes assault. Closely followed by the Intercessors, the Crimson Fists Captain crushes into the wall of putrid demons, and as power swords crackle with azure lightning and chain swords scream in fury, arms and legs start flying.

As the Space Marines step through the mass of fallen bodies, they realize that the Nurgle Champion is not alone. To his right a squad of Plague Marines clad in leaky and rusty Battle Armour sneak out of the shadows of a nearby rock. To his left the putrid fumes whirl away to reveal a slumping Nurgle Marine carrying a large menacing container on his back attached to which is a hose with poisonous liquid squelching out. Captain Asto does not hesitate. "Squad Cassus, you will block the path of the traitor marines. I will handle the Witch."

The Space Marine Captain grips his power sword with both hands and crashes into Typhus who blocks the incoming swing with his massive Death Scythe. Lightning and rot explode in a massive clash of will and raw strength. From the deep recesses of Typhus' Nurgle-blessed Cataphractii Armour wells out a sinister laughter. The Foul Blightspawn points his hose at the Space Marine Captain, locked in battle with Typhus, and releases a foul stream of deadly disease completely enveloping the Captain in it's evil embrace. As he feels a multitude of diseases enter his body he realizes that the Nurgle Champion was merely a ruse, the real danger is with the vile wielder of virulent weaponry!

"Tactical..fall....back..". As the Marines stumblingly leave the heat-scorched battle field under cover from the suppresive fire of Squad Gorean, Typhus raises his Scythe to the sky in victory. "All Hail Father Nurgle! The invasion has begun and soon all of the this decrepit sector will be shrouded in Glorious Contagion! Signal the Terminus Est to begin the second phase of the invasion. Hahaahaaurgh!!!"