The King's Royal Jumpers

Hi all,

In my last B&B post, I showed off the magnificent miniatures that comprised The Gobbo's Grotto Militia, led by Sir Harold "Ol' Harry" Harefield. As part of his background I mentioned his former regiment - The King's Royal Jumpers. 

This unit of Laporidae were an elite band, able to rapidly deploy and move around the battlefield by leaping over barricades and obstacles. The unit was formed during an insurrection dubbed the "Boarstown Flea Party", when the town's merchants rebelled against the Crown and it's imposition of a series of parasitic taxes that bled them dry. Boarstown, a wealthy trade hub vital to the Kingdom's economy ceded from Northymbria (according to the merchant council that "ruled" the town) and began spending its treasury on mercenaries to swell the town guard's ranks in anticipation of the King's response. Predictably that came within days of the newly dubbed Free City Of Boarstown throwing down the gauntlet. The Crown, wildly underestimating the speed with which the merchants could recruit and deploy their mercenaries, sent a couple of local militia bands to bring the rebels to heel. These part time soldiers were no match for the professional mercenary bands and were soon retreating with their tails tucked between their legs.

Shocked by this turn of events and desperate to nip the insurrection in the bud, before other regions of the kingdom would start to break away, the Crown began to recruit and organise it's own professional warbands to deal with the rebels and the King's Royal Jumpers were formed. During the following days and weeks the professional soldiers of both sides were involved in dozens of bloody clashes and atrocities were perpetuated by rebels and loyalists alike. Finally the city was brought back into the kingdom, but the butchers bill was so costly that it shook the region. Of the "Jumpers" original deployment of 50 hares and rabbits, only 5 remained. 

the remnants of the King's Royal Jumpers

So who are they?

Sir Harold "Ol' Harry" Harefield

You've already met Sir Harold, but here he is again as the commander of the Jumpers. Ol' Harry was a seasoned warrior when he was drafted into the Jumpers. The second son of the Lord of the Gobbo's Grotto, a small and sleepy hamlet far from the centre of power in the kingdom, he was expected to join the ranks of the King's Guard as all second sons were. Dutiful as always, he enlisted as soon as he came of age and spent many years fighting for his liege in numerous clashes on the borderlands with the wild tribes of  Strath Clotha. Following the death of his father, Harry expected to be recalled to his brother's side to assist him with the running of their ancestral lands. Before he reached home, he was asked to serve his King one more time to help quell the insurrection.

sir Leopold "Lightning" Lepwig

Sir Harold's right hand hare, Leopold was second in command of the Jumpers and a very stern hare indeed. Brutal in combat, he whirls his morning star with deadly efficiency and bloody finality. Fiercely loyal to the King, he was devastated when Harry retired to his farmstead in the Grotto following the insurrection.

Magus Heather Haretta

Magus Heather Haretta was assigned to the Jumpers to provide magical support. Despite her dreamy nature, she has a rod of steel running through her and more than once she has single pawingly saved the unit from complete disaster, healing her comrades and raining fire upon their enemies.

Sgt Heathcliff Hareson

The sarge, as he was called throughout the conflict, was the glue that held together the regiment during the campaign. Despite his gruff nature, he cared deeply for his comrades and literally bled to keep them safe. However, the conflict was too intense, the fights constant and bloody and at the end he barely clung to sanity at the huge loss suffered by the Jumpers, in fact if it wasn't for pvt Runnerford who would constantly tease and play jokes on the jaded hare, he would have gone insane. Following the insurrection, the sarge resigned his stripes and brought a tavern, where he has found a measure of peace, only broken by the occasional drunken brawl.

private Regina "Bucky" Runnerford

Regina's natural good humour and sense of joy, was imperative for the morale of the Jumpers. Despite the nasty nature of the conflict, she managed to emerge from the horrors intact and still have that love for life that she protected from all the day to day awfulness of the insurrection. Following Ol' Harry, Regina retired from the army to live in The Gobbo's Grotto, content to work as a courier/messenger for the veteran hare. Sadly the "Night of Tears" proved too much even for this robust rabbit and has changed her forever.

So that's it for the King's Royal Jumpers as I don't have any more Laporidae minis - yet!

hope you enjoy

dGG