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"And as the Skinks sank back into the Swamps in defeat, Lord Xtloli instructed his Temple Guards to attack once more...This time a cloud of shards from the plunderer's machines slung our warriors like clouds of enraged hornets and they too were forced to retreat."

Skink Scribe Manquixipolata on the Lizardmen's battle against Pirazzo's Lost Legion[1a]

Pirazzo's Lost Legion is a company of dogs of war who are legendary for being one of the few military forces in the Known World to have set foot upon the lush jungle-continent of Lustria and lived to tell the tale. Not only did these men survive this perilous journey, but their leader, the mercenary captain Fernando Pirazzo, became fantastically wealthy from the treasure he claimed there, and has since become a highly successful mercenary employed by the wealthy and powerful of many realms in the Old World.[1a]

Recently, the journals of the mercenary captain have circulated amongst merchants and explorers in Tilea, Estalia, Salzenmund, and Marienburg. Pirazzo’s ‘Lost Legion’ fought on behalf of the Lizardmen and he is fully aware that his journal is effective advertising for his services — some of the more lurid passages work in his favour.[6a]

In those writings it is said that Pirazzo's legion fought for the mysterious Lizardmen civilisation of Lustria,[6a] aiding them in destroying a force of Undead warriors assailing their jungle nation from the eastern coast of Lustria. His highly-effective fighting force devastated the Undead hordes, and managed to claim a ship and set sail for home with a large cargo of fabulous treasures. It is said that he became so wealthy that one of the merchant princes of Tilea -- some say Borgio the Besieger of Miragliano -- tried to assassinate him in order to steal his wealth.[1a][4a]

Pirazzo's Lost Legion is all that remains of the expedition sent to Lustria in search of wealth and new commercial opportunities by the merchants of Tobaro. The mercenary regiments raised in Tobaro were composed of the most reckless, poverty-stricken youths of the city. The promise of untold wealth to be found in the jungles of Lustria was a temptation none could resist and they joined the expedition in droves to be part of that great opportunity. Although only one-third of those men survived the journey, those who remained did become rich beyond their wildest dreams.[1a]

According to legend, after Fernando Pirazzo recruited his army in Tobaro, he sailed to Remas to barter for armour and weapons for his troops. He bartered with a merchant who had made a deal with an Estalian blacksmith for some cheap armour. Many of Pirazzo's troops disliked wearing black-wrought metal and decided to "bronze" it the same colour that Pirazzo flew on his banner. Soon after returning home from the New World as a rich man, Pirazzo began to trade in this armour and it became the style that the Trantio militia would wear into battle.[2a]

History[]

"ARE YOU A POVERTY-STRICKEN YOUTH?... Do you want richest beyond your wildest dreams?... JOIN PIRAZZO'S LOST LEGION... (trained in Lustria)... Recruiting now at the sign of the Upturned Half-ling... WE KNOW WHERE THE GOLD IS!"

—Recruitment Poster for the Lost Legion's[1a]
Capture

Fernando Pirazzo, mercenary captain of the Lost Legion

Fernando Pirazzo was hired to command one of three regiments of an expeditionary force raised in Tobaro to journey to the continent of Lustria. Although young back then, he was already an experienced mercenary captain, skilled in the art of war. Before the expedition commenced, Pirazzo trained his troops in the use of both the pike and the crossbow, the two traditional weapons of many Tilean mercenaries, foreseeing the harsh conditions the regiments would encounter in the deep, humid jungles of Lustria.[1a]

No sooner had the expedition arrived in Lustrian waters than it ran into trouble. When all the mercenaries had disembarked, the sailors of the ships, who were also mercenaries, weighed anchor and abandoned them, taking the pay chest of the three regiments with them. Pirazzo had advised against a landing like this and told the other captains of the expedition about a possible mutiny, but he was outvoted by the other two mercenary captains. The mercenaries soon realised that Pirazzo was by far the best leader among them and the other two regiments mutinied against their captains. Their incompetent and unfortunate officers were cast adrift in the mangrove swamps of Lustria and the remaining mercenaries joined together as a single regiment under Pirazzo's command, calling themselves the "Lost Legion."[1a]

All knew that obeying Pirazo's orders was their best hope of survival, and so none objected when he insisted that the troops remain encamped on the coast until everyone was fully trained to wield both pikes and crossbows. After several weeks of training, all the poorly disciplined men amongst the stranded mercenaries were either dead, executed, or had split off from the main force to make their own way through the jungles in small groups. The rest were all trained until they met Pirazzo's exacting standards and all soon proved that they were troops their captain could rely on to obey his orders. Only then was Pirazzo ready to lead regiment into the interior in search of adventure, riches or death.[1a]

After a grueling march, the Lost Legion came upon some Lizardmen ruins deep within the jungle canopy. They cautiously entered the ruined city, expecting to find an ambush, but instead found gold and gems in various vaults and chambers. As the mercenaries were marching out again, laden with treasure, the Lizardmen launched a series of ambushes on the causeway and spawning pools of the ruined city.[1a]

Thanks to Pirazzo's foresight in training his troops to use crossbows and pikes, none of the enemy could get at the regiment in large enough numbers to force them off the causeway. In the afternoon, the Skinks were met with volley after volley of crossbows, and later, the Saurus were repulsed by the long formation of pikes. The losses amongst the Skinks and Saurus warbands were terrible and soon the ponds of the ruined temple-city were choked with scaly corpses.[1a]

Lost Legion helmet

This helmet is of the Estalian morion style, and is said to have originally belonged to a soldier of the renowned Pirazzo's Lost Legion. Its previous owner, an Ostland swordsman, was fortunately wise enough to clearly mark the helmet with Imperial insignia to avoid being mistaken for the enemy on the battlefield.[5]

Just when heat, thirst, and fatigue were almost beyond endurance, the Slann mage-priest leading the attack called off any further assaults. The Slann realised that the enemy seemed to be able to counter both his skirmishers and his shock troops and so he had to think of a more cunning tactic to remove them from the city. During the pause in hostilities, Pirazzo found himself considering the possibility of striking a deal with the mage priest to serve him as a mercenary and ultimately return home with the rewards that the Slann might give him. It was a strange thought, as if the idea had been put in his head from somewhere else. Quickly he ordered his troops to put down their loot and retreat along the causeway. He was obeyed without question, though it broke the mercenaries' greedy hearts to leave all those treasures of gold behind.[1a]

The regiment marched back into the ruins and made camp in the plaza to await events, although Pirazzo did not know what to expect. When the sun rose, the sentries were amazed to see not only the piles of treasure returned to the mercenaries, though some noted that the the biggest and best tablets of gold were missing, but also heaps of food and great gourds of refreshing water. The plaza was lined with Saurus warriors, permitting only one way out of the ruins; to the south.[1a]

The Lost Legion took the loot, the supplies and the road appointed for them. The Legion marched for many weeks to the south. They did not encounter any more Lizardmen cities, but did find further piles of supplies along the route. Eventually they entered an eerie landscape full of fetid swamps and it was here they were attacked by the Zombie hordes of the Vampire Coast.[1a]

Now it was clear that the mage-priest had wanted to set Pirazzo's Lost Legion against their most dreaded enemies. The Lost Legion fought valiantly and defeated the Undead wherever they met them. At last they reached the sea and it was here that the mercenaries filled their knapsack with treasure from shipwrecks which they found scattered along the coast. Then taking the best timbers, they repaired the most seaworthy of the decaying hulks and put to sea.[1a]

Just when the hulk was on the verge of sinking during its long voyage to the Old World, Pirazzo sighted land, for the Lost Legion had made it to the coast of Araby. Not long after the Lost Legion marched inland, they were hired by one of the emirs of the Arabyan corsairs who were afraid of what Pirazzo and his troops might do if he didn't hire them. Since then, Pirazzo's Lost Legion has fought its way across Araby, Sartosa, and into Tilea once more serving many masters, winning great wealth and recruiting the reckless and adventurous to the regimental banner.[1a]

Appearance[]

The regiment wears polished brass plate armour, green uniforms and green crests. They wear their hair long.[1a]

Miniatures[]

The Pirazzo's Lost Legion models were sculpted by Alan and Michael Perry. Their aesthetic was based on the conquistadors with Morion helmets of 16th century.[7]

Trivia[]

The name "Fernando Pirazzo" is derived from Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish conquistador who conquered the Incan Empire of Peru in the 16th century.

Sources[]

Gallery[]

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