The War in the Willows

Tensions Rise

The Misfits gathered in the Den’s living room, a mix of tired and annoyed expressions on their faces. Morrigan was perched on a windowsill, preening his feathers, looking like the cat who’d swallowed the canary.

Maverick spoke up, his voice calm but firm. “Morrigan, we need to talk.”

Morrigan raised an eyebrow, a hint of irritation creeping into his voice. “What is it, Maverick? Can’t you see I’m busy grooming?”

Maverick stepped forward, his arms crossed. “We all appreciate what you’ve done for us, Morrigan. You’ve saved us a few times, and we’re grateful. But-“

Morrigan interrupted, his tone growing haughty. “A few times? A few times?! I’ve saved this group countless times. I’m the one who-“

Bramble cut him off, her voice gentle but firm. “Morrigan, that’s exactly the problem. We know you’re a hero, but we’re a team. We need to work together, not have one person taking all the credit.”

Morrigan’s feathers ruffled with annoyance. “Credit? Credit?! I’m the top bird around here. You all would be lost without me.”

Thomas spoke up, his voice dry. “Actually, Morrigan, I think that’s the issue. We’re not a hierarchy. We’re a team.”

Morrigan’s gaze snapped to Thomas, his eyes flashing with irritation. “You think you’re part of this conversation, Thomas? You’re just a slow-moving snail with a penchant for getting lost.”

The room fell silent, the tension palpable. Maverick stood resolute, his voice calm. “Morrigan, we’re saying we appreciate you, but we need you to work with us, not above us.”

Morrigan’s expression darkened, his feathers fluffing out in agitation. “Fine. I’ll… consider it.” He stalked off, muttering under his breath, “Top bird, indeed…”

The Misfits exchanged worried glances. “Think he’ll ever learn?” Neville asked.

Maverick sighed. “Guess we’ll just have to keep reminding him.

____________________

A friend in Need is a Friend Indeed

Bramble and Morrigan sat together on the fallen tree outside the Den, the warm light casting a gentle glow on their faces. Bramble’s expression was soft, concerned, as she asked, “Morrigan, what’s going on? You’ve been… different lately.”

Morrigan shifted uncomfortably, his feathers rustling. “Different? I’m the same as always. Top bird, and proud of it.”

Bramble’s eyes sparkled with understanding. “That’s exactly what I mean. You used to be… brooding, maybe a bit lost. But now… It’s like you’re trying to prove something to everyone.”

Morrigan’s gaze dropped, a hint of vulnerability creeping into his voice. “I am proving something. I’m proving I’m worth something.”

Bramble’s expression softened further. “You are worth something, Morrigan. You always have been.”

Morrigan snorted, a bitter edge to his voice. “No, I wasn’t. I was the weird bird, the one nobody noticed. And then… then I did something, and people started looking at me. And I liked it.”

Bramble nodded, her voice gentle. “You like feeling valued. I get that. But there’s a difference between feeling valued and needing to tell everyone that you are the better then everyone else.”

Morrigan’s feathers ruffled, a mix of emotions playing across his face. “I don’t want to go back to feeling like I didn’t matter, Bramble. I don’t want to be invisible again.”

Bramble reached out, her hand on his wing. “You’ll never be invisible, Morrigan. And you don’t have to prove yourself to us. We value you, just as you are.”

Morrigan looked up, a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. For a moment, he just looked… vulnerable.

Bramble smiled, her voice warm. “Morrigan, you’ll always be our top bird… but more than that, you’re part of the family now. And families don’t need to prove themselves to each other.”

Morrigan’s gaze dropped, his feathers rustling softly as he looked away, lost in thought. Bramble patted his wing and left him to it, the silence between them filled with unspoken understanding.

_

Morrigan sat alone, the words echoing in his mind… part of the family… He shifted uncomfortably, unsure how to process the feeling that came with those words.

____________________

Foundations of a Bridge

Thomas’s antennae twitched with frustration as he slid a book onto the brown shelf, watching with dismay as it blended seamlessly into the surrounding tomes. Colour grouping. Morrigan’s “system” was an affront to everything Thomas held dear – order, precision, alphabetical organisation.

But… it was efficient. Thomas couldn’t deny it. Finding books was a nightmare, but putting them back? Child’s play. He slid another book onto the shelf, his foot tapping impatiently as he watched it disappear into the brown abyss.

“Ugh, I’m starting to see the appeal,” Thomas muttered to himself, adjusting his spectacles with a flick of his antennae. “But don’t tell Morrigan. He’s insufferable enough as it is.”

Thomas glanced around the library, half-expecting Morrigan to materialise and gloat about being right. He shook his head, chuckling wily. “No, I’ll keep this to myself. Morrigan’s ego doesn’t need any more inflating.”

With a final adjustment, Thomas declared the books “filed” and stalked off, with reluctant admiration for Morrigan’s… questionable… system.

____________________

The Runaway aka Missing Grandpa

Philippe burst into the Den, his face flushed with excitement and a hint of concern. Maverick and Maximiliano looked up from their conversation, eyebrows raised.

“What’s up, Philippe?” Maverick asked, nodding for him to continue.

Philippe took a deep breath, his voice normal. “I was just talking to Mrs Rabbit. Barry’s gone missing.”

Maximiliano’s expression turned serious, his Spanish accent thick. “Barry? Zee elderly Hamster?”

Philippe nodded, his faux French accent kicking in. “Oui, zis ees correct! Barry ze Hamster, ‘e left ome and didn’t come back. Zis grandkeeds, zey are worried, zey asked us for ‘elp.”

Maverick’s eyes narrowed, thinking it through. “Barry’s got to be around here somewhere. What do you think, Max?”

Maximiliano nodded, his accent still thick. “We can’t leave ‘im out zere alone. We’ll find ‘im.”

Philippe’s French accent grew thicker, his words becoming more exaggerated. “Zut! Zis ees terrible, no? Ze Misfits to zee rescue! I’ll spread zee word – we’ll need Morrigan’s eyes in zee air, and Thomas’s map skills…”

_

Morrigan trudged through the dry leaves, his feathers ruffled and dull. He kicked a stick with more force than necessary, sending it skittering across the ground. What’s the point of being top bird if nobody needs you? He felt like he’d finally found his place, and now Bramble’s words were stuck in his head: “You’re part of the family now”.

Maverick stepped out of the Den, a serious look on his face. “Morrigan, we need you.”

Morrigan’s head snapped up, his eyes narrowing. “What is it?”

Maverick approached him, his voice low. “Barry the Hamster’s gone missing. His grandkids are worried sick about him, and they’ve asked for our help finding him.”

Morrigan’s expression softened slightly. “Barry? The elderly bloke who plays with those little toy soldiers?”

Maverick nodded. “That’s the one. We need someone to scout around, see if they can spot him. You’re our best bet – you’ve got the eyesight, and you’ve done this before.”

Morrigan’s feathers puffed out slightly, his posture straightening. “Right, I’m on it. When was the last time anyone saw him?”

Maverick pulled out a map, Thomas hovering nearby with notes. “Last seen near the old oak, heading towards the berry bushes. Grandkids said he was talking about going to find the Necromouser and didn’t come back.”

Morrigan nodded, his gaze intense. “Got it. I’ll find him.”

He took off, his wings beating strongly, the wind rushing past his face. For a moment, he forgot his worries – he was the top bird, and he was needed. He swooped low, scanning the ground below. “Barry, where are you?”

______________________________

For this next mission, we are going to give the scenario ‘The Runaway’ a go.

‘A Noblebeast’s only son has run away and is now wandering lost and alone.’  Well, that doesn’t exactly work for me, so I have changed it to Barry, our wargaming hamster, has gone off to tackle the Necromouser and is now lost and in need of rescue.

The mission is simple: get to Barry and safely escort him off the table without him getting taken out of action.

_

I am now very conscious of the fact that there is very little time left in this campaign, so I need to start giving some thought to how I imagine or rather hope, each of the Misfits tales will conclude.   So far, it has been pretty much a case of playing it by ear, and hopefully their stories have flowed on well enough without too many timeline paradoxes.

I hope they all survive; I will be devastated to lose one of them so close to the finish line.  I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing how each of their characteristics has evolved.  It has been great fun trying to actually play the games with each model, trying to follow as closely as possible how I think they would react.   Maverick repeatedly throws himself in harm’s way to save the others, Maximilliano protecting Bramble, even when I really needed his melee prowess elsewhere.  Morrigan, looking out for himself, even to the point where he flew off the table to do his own thing.  The love-hate relationship between Thomas and Morrigan.

It has all been a blast.

Anyway, this is not the end, there is a Necromouser out there that needs a good thumping, and I have until the end of the month to get the Misfits ready for whatever the grand finale throws at us.

_

I also thought I would address the issue of AI art in this project.  I know some are for it and some are against its use.

For me, I needed to add something to break up what would otherwise be massive walls of text.  Walls that would be hard to read, so I made the decision to use some AI art.

I tried my best to keep, for the best part, the AI art based around my own painted figures and my own painted scenery.  Obviously, I could not do that with all images.  Maverick flying above the pentagram is one of them.

As I have absolutely no idea where this story is going from one entry to the next, it would be impossible for me to make dioramas of everything, plus the games being played are not always on my scenery, and I don’t really want to interrupt my opponents too much by taking dozens of pictures each game.  As it is, this tale is told from the side of the Misfits and how they interpret the goings on in Cedarwood.

I also have not documented every single skill upgrade, den upgrade and market purchase.  Just enough to give the idea that things are progressing along.  For example, I didn’t feel the need to say I bought Bramble a sword; I did, however, mention that she got hold of a Mirroring Talisman in the form of a mirror.

I am hoping that before this campaign is over, I can go through each character and share how they now look on paper.  They have changed quite a bit.