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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 6064442" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p>Chapter 66 "The Battle of Kassassin” (Episode Two, Chapter Twenty-six) - Saturday, September 10, 1882, 8:00 A.M. </p><p></p><p>It had been approximately forty-five minutes since the dirigible departed from the hotel and they have slowly traveled the distance twenty miles to the southeast. Hovering approximately eight-hundred feet above the town of Salinyeh, they begin to photograph approximately 10,000 troops of the Egyptian rebel army traveling eastward. George continues to take his photographs, but makes sure to keep his eyes and ears open to the operations of the airship and its crew.</p><p></p><p>They photograph the troop movements out of Salinyeh heading eastward. Poincare show's the top officer the map and comments "They're moving towards Kassassin, hasn't that town suffered enough?" The dirigible's Captain, the Frenchman Montgolfier, looks George and says, "The British and Egyptian Rebels had a rather significant skirmish at this same location two weeks ago. That was the campaign's only previous battle in this area east of Cairo."</p><p></p><p>As they get closer they can see British forces entrenched near the town. Montgolfier says, "Interesting, the British have apparently decided to use the dug fortifications made by both sides here during the previous battle." Poincare is busy moving the various markers on the board while looking at the troops below through binoculars. He says, "There appear to be only around one-third of the total British forces below at Kassassin, while approximately half of the Egyptian Rebels were at Salinyeh and heading here now."</p><p></p><p>"I wonder if this will be another Rorke's Drift here." George wonders aloud. "Of course the Egyptians are no Impi, but still. I wonder if the forces are smaller, where they are? Flanking maneuvers? And if so, where are the generals we need to be most watchful of?" Montgolfier has been looking below with binoculars and states "General Woolsley is leading the group below. I know not where the other British troops are, but these are the premier troops of their forces." </p><p></p><p>The very elderly Frenchman Joseph Marie Jacquard has been watching the distance with a telescope and exclaims "There's the other half of the Egyptian forces, coming from the southeast, the direction of Tel-el-Kabir. They are also moving towards Kassassin." "An interesting strategy, throwing all of their forces at this one group of British." Montgolfier ask Jacquard "Should we move the dirigible to better photograph the new arrivals?" The older man replies, "No, that would alert the British to that movement. We need to remain neutral in this conflict."</p><p></p><p>George spots the new group of rebels with his own binoculars. He moves back to observe the British forces, spying General Woolsley outside his command tent, George calls aloud "Does the new Egyptian column contain their general?” Poincare says, "Hard to say where Orabi is, unlike the British, these Egyptian rebel leaders tend to not advertise their positions unless leading a charge. But this appears to be the entire rebel army, so he's down there somewhere.”</p><p></p><p>George then says, “I heard they may have some artillery pulled by camels, are there any there?" "They appear to all be with the second group," Montgolfier comments. “Well, we need to watch for their charge then if we are to keep an eye on the general." says George as he shifts his camera to take pictures of the new column of troops. As the French continue to study the rebel forces, George is staring intently at the British forces silently mouthing words a message directed at General Woolsley "General Woolsley, second column of rebels approaching from southeast."</p><p></p><p>[DM’s Note: Up until this point I had been following the Historical account of troop movements for the September 10th Battle at Kassassin. George’s intervention here dramatically changes the whole script. I actually love it when players do this in historically-based campaigns.]</p><p></p><p>The troops move in, and George notes this group of Rebels is hauling over fifty cannon with them. Henri Poincare is looking out the other side and exclaims, "The British must had had scouts to the northwest, they're moving out a column of cavalry and repositioning their own cannon towards the new group of Egyptians." "Well, how smart of General Woolsley." remarks George. "Though we are still missing a good portion of the British forces. I think we may miss a battle today gentlemen."</p><p></p><p>The battle begins as the first group of Egyptians discharge their cannon towards the British cavalry flanking northwest. British cannon follow, and the scene below quickly turns into one of organized chaos. Despite their being outnumbered, the British forces are well organized, particularly those who moved out to take on the incoming group. They soon manage to cause those rebels to pull back and even split into two groups, one of which is forced to retreat. </p><p></p><p>Poincare continues to move the markers on his map and comments "Interesting strategy on Orabi's part. If it wasn't for the advanced notice by the British scouts this would have easily been a victory for Orabi's forces. Their using the previous battle's fortifications give the Brits the best protection, but would have left them hopelessly trapped by Orabi's flanking reinforcements." [DM’s note: That is what had happened historically according to General Woolsley’s report of the battle.] </p><p></p><p>Fifteen minutes later a flare goes up from the British encampment. Montgolfier comments "That's the signal for us. Prepare to descend to the east behind the lines." A group of British have gathered at a large canvas tent well behind the lines, which is where the balloon is lowering towards. When they get within a quarter mile and are still 150 yards aloft it is noted that a group of nearly 400 Egyptian rebel cavalry have managed to circumnavigate around the British forces and are charging in that direction. Montgolfier yells out, "Turn to put the ship at a right angle to those horsemen and prepare to fire a full broadside to starboard."</p><p></p><p>The photographers all rush to the starboard side of the dirigible in order to be able to have both 'before' and 'after' shots of the cannon broadside. Montgolfier then counts down from five to prepare everybody for the recoil. The cannon are aimed to hit a sand dune immediately before the Egyptian horsemen, obliterating the dune and showering tons of sand and rubble onto them. The recoil causes the floor on the upper level to rise, and only braces keep it from totally sandwiching them to the ceiling. The floor then resettles. </p><p></p><p>When the dust clears, half of the horsemen and riders are lying on the ground and the remaining two-hundred or so are still standing but dazed and wounded. The photographers take another shot and Montgolfier then orders a swift descent to where the British are grouped. </p><p></p><p>By the time the dirigible reaches the ground the Egyptian Rebel cavalry has regrouped, most of the downed horses having just been temporarily dropped. Montgolfier notices them preparing for a charge and orders the four portable Gattling Guns in the corners of the lower section to be "Wheeled out". The French soldiers quickly position the weapons in a firing line. This causes the Rebel cavalry commander to reconsider, and orders a retreat. They take their dead and wounded men with them, also stripping the two-dozen or so dead horses of their saddles and barding. </p><p></p><p>The British quickly load their wounded General onboard, along with a French physician who assists the British medical team. The mortally wounded man is not General Woolsley, but is identified as General Drury Curzon Drury-Lowe, a man in his early fifties. George recognizes the name as being a British cavalry hero, who had been promoted to Colonel due to his exploits in the Crimean War in the late 1850's and later to General during the Anglo-Zulu War of the 1860's. The dirigible takes to the sky and proceeds eastward at a rather fast pace. They are a good twenty-to-twenty-five miles distant before George spots another large contingent of British troops moving westward. "Looks like General Graham will be a little bit late today," Poincare states. </p><p></p><p>They continue for another ten minutes before landing at the ruins of Tanis, where a mobile hospital has been set up and fortified. general Drury-Lowe is off-loaded, but the French physician remains on board and is joined by another Frenchman from the Tanis site. The dirigible takes to the air again and proceeds back west. George soon notes that General Graham's forces are making good time, having covered nearly three miles in the short span between when he first saw them a half-hour earlier. Montgolfier laughs and says aloud "What hypocrites, the British claim they are opposed to magic but there is no way they could travel this quickly across open desert, hauling cannon and supplies, using only mundane technology."</p><p></p><p>George has been busy taking photographs as they traveled. George replies to Montgolfier as he changes rolls of film "The British are not opposed to magic, merely arcane magic Montgolfier" chastises George. "And under forced march they could have made this time. General Graham's forces are fairly fresh." As they return to the air above Kassassin, the battle scene has changed considerably. The Egyptian rebel army now has the British surrounded on three sides and are pressing the assault from the south, trying to close off the remaining southeastern-to-eastern corridor that the British appear to be holding as an escape route. </p><p></p><p>Poincare moves his various pieces around the map board and gets counts from his associate Joseph Renan, a young French historian whose area of specialty is this region of the world. The photographers continue to shoot off film, Woolsley himself leads a charge at the northern line and breaks through the Egyptian forces. The British troops then pour through that gap like sand through an hourglass. "Now see, if the Egyptians had standard regiment formations with say the box formation, that would not have happened" states George. He adds, "Still with Woolsley out and about we need to keep an eye on him." George is suddenly struck with an odd thought though and a suspicion, but keep both to himself.</p><p></p><p>Keeping an eye on Woolsley appears to also be high on the agenda of the Frenchman Renan, whose binoculars follow the General's every movement. The Egyptians rush to take on the British troops flowing into and behind their ranks, but with a noted lack of coordination. After ten minutes of intense fighting, the overwhelming number of attackers causes the British to retreat back through the gap to their ranks. </p><p></p><p>The tide of battle then shifts once more, as a group of 400 camel-riding advanced cavalry from General Grahams forces arrive, having circumnavigated around to the north and come in behind the Egyptian northern troops, whose cannon are pointed southward. These Egyptians are taken completely by surprise. This location was where General Orabi himself had been leading the fighting, and the rebel leader appears to be the primary target of this group.</p><p></p><p>George keep a close eye on Rena keen to spot any surreptitious spells being cast. George does keep an eye out for where the airship might head next, which general might be more in trouble. George searches for General Orabi through his camera lens. Finding the General, George under his camera hood, quietly mutters this message is in Arabic. "General Orabi, this is the jinn Kulan of the desert. Take heart, hold firm, turn your cannon and I shall shield your men from harm. Cast out the white men.". </p><p></p><p>Taking the message to heart, Orabi orders his cannon turned just as the lead Egyptians engage his forces. They are unable to prevent the first 100 from entering the rebel forces ranks, but the cannon fire upon the remainder, forcing a temporary retreat. Not wanting to be surrounded or captured, the forward group of British camel cavalry push onward, cutting down many of Orabi's personal guard but are unable to strike the General himself. </p><p>They then proceed forward, slashing swords and firing pistols upon rebel cannon crews that they come in from behind, before preceding onward and back to their own lines of troops. </p><p></p><p>Another hour of battle follow, both sides gaining and then loosing ground, with the Egyptian rebels having a slight upper hand. That then changes as the remainder of General Graham's reinforcements come onto the scene. George heads over and gets a drink of cool water. The hot desert sun coming through the windows makes the cabin warm. After his drink he stops to examine the board for a moment before heading back to his camera. He comments, "It is sad that so much death and destruction cannot be stopped." </p><p></p><p>Montgolfier walks over to George and says, "But it can be Mr. Eastman, that is why we are here. Hopefully today's battle will be more than enough for both sides, and they will be inclined to negotiate a truce." "If only that were the case Mssr. Montgolfier. Too often pride; nationalistic, idealistic or jingoistic pride interferes and prevents otherwise rational men from negotiating. And that speaks nothing to the vast financial interests involved with war. I wish I were as optimistic as you." replies George as he continues to photograph troop movements.</p><p></p><p>With the arrival of the new reinforcements one would think that the tide of battle would now shift if favor of the British, but that does not appear to be the case. For the next forty-five minutes the British forces under both General Woolsley and General Graham mount changes and attacks, but with no coordination between them. In some instances the troops converge on the same area and actually get in each other's way, in other instances they move in opposite directions, leaving vast openings for the Egyptians to move forward. General Orabi's forces however, fail to take advantage of these openings, keeping to their current lines rather than surging forward when the opportunities present themselves.</p><p></p><p>As they watch, a wizard on the Egyptian side stands and casts a Lightning Bolt spell into General Herbert MacPherson, the leader of the Indian Contingent, striking down him and his senior staff. This leaves the three battalions of goblin troops from India without any human leadership. The 29th Baluck Infantry troops react as less-disciplined troops often do when facing powerful opposition, dropping their weapons and running away. But the 7th Bengal Infantry and the 20th Punjab Infantry take the opposite approach. These troops immediately shed their red jackets and forced British discipline, but instead of retreating they act as...well...goblins. </p><p></p><p>The Egyptians are unprepared for the massive onslaught as dozens of claws, teeth and dagger stabs that overwhelm them. The goblins soon cut down all immediate opposition and swarm into the adjacent groups of Egyptian troops. Events move rapidly from this point forward. The large gap in the Egyptian line created by the rampaging goblins has the British General Edward Alison drive forth his Highland Infantry. Hundreds of kilt-wearing Scotsmen comprised of the Cimarron Highlanders, the Grant Highlanders and the Royal Highlanders (aka The Black Watch), swim into the fray. </p><p></p><p>To the call of their bagpipers and drummers, the Scots make short work of their opposition. The greatest challenge to the highlanders is actually the still berserk goblins in their midst that attack all humans, friend or foe alive. Within a half-hour of entering the battle the Highlanders have captured twenty of Orabi's cannon, approximately one-third of his total artillery. This has a domino effect, as this group of cannon were all that were keeping General Russell's cavalry at bay, and they swarm Orabi's command, cutting down all opposition. </p><p></p><p>The Egyptians soon fall into a disorganized retreat. Those in the dirigible lose sight of General Orabi himself, but see that most of his personal guard were slain by Russell's troops. A short while later a group of Egyptians gather slighting behind the others and send of an emergency flare, indicating that one of their leader's is mortally wounded. "Time to descend again. I wonder if you fellows could not have developed a spell to be able to see the generals without giving away their position to the enemy. That would have been useful to be positioned well for faster recovery. I just hope that we land sufficiently away from those goblins" grins George.</p><p></p><p>Montgolfier says, "We can't land where that flare went up, it's too close to the fighting and artillery. I'll land a few hundred yards further back and let them come to us." The Dreadnaught does exactly that, and unlike the ambulance service on the other side, the attackers stay clear of the airship. It takes the rebels a while to get their wounded leader to the ship, and he is also surrounded by another group of six Frenchmen, one of whom is a physician. The wounded man turns out to be General Ahmed Orabi. Once on board, Montgolfier wastes no time in getting airborne and returning to Zakazik at the maximum speed. Within fifteen minutes they are nearing the city.</p><p></p><p>"Well at least the English, even their crazed auxiliaries, will abide by treaties. If only all parts of war were as civilized." states George with mixtures of irony and respect. "What happens once night falls? We here cannot take more pictures. Will we remain airborne to watch for flares?" Poincare states "No need, today's fighting should be winding down as General Orabi's last order before he lost consciousness was for his troops to withdrawn back to the town of Tel el-Kebir. And while it is possible that the British might pursue them, based upon my knowledge of General Woolsley, I do not think that will be the case."</p><p></p><p>"Where will we be docking tonight then, and will we return to flight before dawn to be ready?" asks George. Montgolfier says, "The Dreadnaught will not be docking here, just letting everybody off. We need to go re-supply the cannon and the troops will need room for maneuvers." Poincare adds, "Plus the hotel owner doesn't want this weapon on his roof." "Oh, I can't understand why they wouldn't" replies George with a smile. George begins to pack up his equipment as the airship moves to the landing zone.</p><p></p><p>As soon as the Dreadnaught touches down the medical teams hurry out with the wounded General. They are followed by the Frenchmen on the lower deck and then the Frenchmen on the upper deck, along with their guest George Eastman. The photographers carefully handle all of their equipment. As he arrives at the doorway to the Royal Suite and is admitted in, George notes that the medical team is working passionately on the unconscious General Orabi, who is covered with blood but most wounds appear to be superficial in nature. This indicates that either he wasn't wounded as badly as originally thought, or that significant clerical healing has already been applied to him.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 6064442, member: 8530"] Chapter 66 "The Battle of Kassassin” (Episode Two, Chapter Twenty-six) - Saturday, September 10, 1882, 8:00 A.M. It had been approximately forty-five minutes since the dirigible departed from the hotel and they have slowly traveled the distance twenty miles to the southeast. Hovering approximately eight-hundred feet above the town of Salinyeh, they begin to photograph approximately 10,000 troops of the Egyptian rebel army traveling eastward. George continues to take his photographs, but makes sure to keep his eyes and ears open to the operations of the airship and its crew. They photograph the troop movements out of Salinyeh heading eastward. Poincare show's the top officer the map and comments "They're moving towards Kassassin, hasn't that town suffered enough?" The dirigible's Captain, the Frenchman Montgolfier, looks George and says, "The British and Egyptian Rebels had a rather significant skirmish at this same location two weeks ago. That was the campaign's only previous battle in this area east of Cairo." As they get closer they can see British forces entrenched near the town. Montgolfier says, "Interesting, the British have apparently decided to use the dug fortifications made by both sides here during the previous battle." Poincare is busy moving the various markers on the board while looking at the troops below through binoculars. He says, "There appear to be only around one-third of the total British forces below at Kassassin, while approximately half of the Egyptian Rebels were at Salinyeh and heading here now." "I wonder if this will be another Rorke's Drift here." George wonders aloud. "Of course the Egyptians are no Impi, but still. I wonder if the forces are smaller, where they are? Flanking maneuvers? And if so, where are the generals we need to be most watchful of?" Montgolfier has been looking below with binoculars and states "General Woolsley is leading the group below. I know not where the other British troops are, but these are the premier troops of their forces." The very elderly Frenchman Joseph Marie Jacquard has been watching the distance with a telescope and exclaims "There's the other half of the Egyptian forces, coming from the southeast, the direction of Tel-el-Kabir. They are also moving towards Kassassin." "An interesting strategy, throwing all of their forces at this one group of British." Montgolfier ask Jacquard "Should we move the dirigible to better photograph the new arrivals?" The older man replies, "No, that would alert the British to that movement. We need to remain neutral in this conflict." George spots the new group of rebels with his own binoculars. He moves back to observe the British forces, spying General Woolsley outside his command tent, George calls aloud "Does the new Egyptian column contain their general?” Poincare says, "Hard to say where Orabi is, unlike the British, these Egyptian rebel leaders tend to not advertise their positions unless leading a charge. But this appears to be the entire rebel army, so he's down there somewhere.” George then says, “I heard they may have some artillery pulled by camels, are there any there?" "They appear to all be with the second group," Montgolfier comments. “Well, we need to watch for their charge then if we are to keep an eye on the general." says George as he shifts his camera to take pictures of the new column of troops. As the French continue to study the rebel forces, George is staring intently at the British forces silently mouthing words a message directed at General Woolsley "General Woolsley, second column of rebels approaching from southeast." [DM’s Note: Up until this point I had been following the Historical account of troop movements for the September 10th Battle at Kassassin. George’s intervention here dramatically changes the whole script. I actually love it when players do this in historically-based campaigns.] The troops move in, and George notes this group of Rebels is hauling over fifty cannon with them. Henri Poincare is looking out the other side and exclaims, "The British must had had scouts to the northwest, they're moving out a column of cavalry and repositioning their own cannon towards the new group of Egyptians." "Well, how smart of General Woolsley." remarks George. "Though we are still missing a good portion of the British forces. I think we may miss a battle today gentlemen." The battle begins as the first group of Egyptians discharge their cannon towards the British cavalry flanking northwest. British cannon follow, and the scene below quickly turns into one of organized chaos. Despite their being outnumbered, the British forces are well organized, particularly those who moved out to take on the incoming group. They soon manage to cause those rebels to pull back and even split into two groups, one of which is forced to retreat. Poincare continues to move the markers on his map and comments "Interesting strategy on Orabi's part. If it wasn't for the advanced notice by the British scouts this would have easily been a victory for Orabi's forces. Their using the previous battle's fortifications give the Brits the best protection, but would have left them hopelessly trapped by Orabi's flanking reinforcements." [DM’s note: That is what had happened historically according to General Woolsley’s report of the battle.] Fifteen minutes later a flare goes up from the British encampment. Montgolfier comments "That's the signal for us. Prepare to descend to the east behind the lines." A group of British have gathered at a large canvas tent well behind the lines, which is where the balloon is lowering towards. When they get within a quarter mile and are still 150 yards aloft it is noted that a group of nearly 400 Egyptian rebel cavalry have managed to circumnavigate around the British forces and are charging in that direction. Montgolfier yells out, "Turn to put the ship at a right angle to those horsemen and prepare to fire a full broadside to starboard." The photographers all rush to the starboard side of the dirigible in order to be able to have both 'before' and 'after' shots of the cannon broadside. Montgolfier then counts down from five to prepare everybody for the recoil. The cannon are aimed to hit a sand dune immediately before the Egyptian horsemen, obliterating the dune and showering tons of sand and rubble onto them. The recoil causes the floor on the upper level to rise, and only braces keep it from totally sandwiching them to the ceiling. The floor then resettles. When the dust clears, half of the horsemen and riders are lying on the ground and the remaining two-hundred or so are still standing but dazed and wounded. The photographers take another shot and Montgolfier then orders a swift descent to where the British are grouped. By the time the dirigible reaches the ground the Egyptian Rebel cavalry has regrouped, most of the downed horses having just been temporarily dropped. Montgolfier notices them preparing for a charge and orders the four portable Gattling Guns in the corners of the lower section to be "Wheeled out". The French soldiers quickly position the weapons in a firing line. This causes the Rebel cavalry commander to reconsider, and orders a retreat. They take their dead and wounded men with them, also stripping the two-dozen or so dead horses of their saddles and barding. The British quickly load their wounded General onboard, along with a French physician who assists the British medical team. The mortally wounded man is not General Woolsley, but is identified as General Drury Curzon Drury-Lowe, a man in his early fifties. George recognizes the name as being a British cavalry hero, who had been promoted to Colonel due to his exploits in the Crimean War in the late 1850's and later to General during the Anglo-Zulu War of the 1860's. The dirigible takes to the sky and proceeds eastward at a rather fast pace. They are a good twenty-to-twenty-five miles distant before George spots another large contingent of British troops moving westward. "Looks like General Graham will be a little bit late today," Poincare states. They continue for another ten minutes before landing at the ruins of Tanis, where a mobile hospital has been set up and fortified. general Drury-Lowe is off-loaded, but the French physician remains on board and is joined by another Frenchman from the Tanis site. The dirigible takes to the air again and proceeds back west. George soon notes that General Graham's forces are making good time, having covered nearly three miles in the short span between when he first saw them a half-hour earlier. Montgolfier laughs and says aloud "What hypocrites, the British claim they are opposed to magic but there is no way they could travel this quickly across open desert, hauling cannon and supplies, using only mundane technology." George has been busy taking photographs as they traveled. George replies to Montgolfier as he changes rolls of film "The British are not opposed to magic, merely arcane magic Montgolfier" chastises George. "And under forced march they could have made this time. General Graham's forces are fairly fresh." As they return to the air above Kassassin, the battle scene has changed considerably. The Egyptian rebel army now has the British surrounded on three sides and are pressing the assault from the south, trying to close off the remaining southeastern-to-eastern corridor that the British appear to be holding as an escape route. Poincare moves his various pieces around the map board and gets counts from his associate Joseph Renan, a young French historian whose area of specialty is this region of the world. The photographers continue to shoot off film, Woolsley himself leads a charge at the northern line and breaks through the Egyptian forces. The British troops then pour through that gap like sand through an hourglass. "Now see, if the Egyptians had standard regiment formations with say the box formation, that would not have happened" states George. He adds, "Still with Woolsley out and about we need to keep an eye on him." George is suddenly struck with an odd thought though and a suspicion, but keep both to himself. Keeping an eye on Woolsley appears to also be high on the agenda of the Frenchman Renan, whose binoculars follow the General's every movement. The Egyptians rush to take on the British troops flowing into and behind their ranks, but with a noted lack of coordination. After ten minutes of intense fighting, the overwhelming number of attackers causes the British to retreat back through the gap to their ranks. The tide of battle then shifts once more, as a group of 400 camel-riding advanced cavalry from General Grahams forces arrive, having circumnavigated around to the north and come in behind the Egyptian northern troops, whose cannon are pointed southward. These Egyptians are taken completely by surprise. This location was where General Orabi himself had been leading the fighting, and the rebel leader appears to be the primary target of this group. George keep a close eye on Rena keen to spot any surreptitious spells being cast. George does keep an eye out for where the airship might head next, which general might be more in trouble. George searches for General Orabi through his camera lens. Finding the General, George under his camera hood, quietly mutters this message is in Arabic. "General Orabi, this is the jinn Kulan of the desert. Take heart, hold firm, turn your cannon and I shall shield your men from harm. Cast out the white men.". Taking the message to heart, Orabi orders his cannon turned just as the lead Egyptians engage his forces. They are unable to prevent the first 100 from entering the rebel forces ranks, but the cannon fire upon the remainder, forcing a temporary retreat. Not wanting to be surrounded or captured, the forward group of British camel cavalry push onward, cutting down many of Orabi's personal guard but are unable to strike the General himself. They then proceed forward, slashing swords and firing pistols upon rebel cannon crews that they come in from behind, before preceding onward and back to their own lines of troops. Another hour of battle follow, both sides gaining and then loosing ground, with the Egyptian rebels having a slight upper hand. That then changes as the remainder of General Graham's reinforcements come onto the scene. George heads over and gets a drink of cool water. The hot desert sun coming through the windows makes the cabin warm. After his drink he stops to examine the board for a moment before heading back to his camera. He comments, "It is sad that so much death and destruction cannot be stopped." Montgolfier walks over to George and says, "But it can be Mr. Eastman, that is why we are here. Hopefully today's battle will be more than enough for both sides, and they will be inclined to negotiate a truce." "If only that were the case Mssr. Montgolfier. Too often pride; nationalistic, idealistic or jingoistic pride interferes and prevents otherwise rational men from negotiating. And that speaks nothing to the vast financial interests involved with war. I wish I were as optimistic as you." replies George as he continues to photograph troop movements. With the arrival of the new reinforcements one would think that the tide of battle would now shift if favor of the British, but that does not appear to be the case. For the next forty-five minutes the British forces under both General Woolsley and General Graham mount changes and attacks, but with no coordination between them. In some instances the troops converge on the same area and actually get in each other's way, in other instances they move in opposite directions, leaving vast openings for the Egyptians to move forward. General Orabi's forces however, fail to take advantage of these openings, keeping to their current lines rather than surging forward when the opportunities present themselves. As they watch, a wizard on the Egyptian side stands and casts a Lightning Bolt spell into General Herbert MacPherson, the leader of the Indian Contingent, striking down him and his senior staff. This leaves the three battalions of goblin troops from India without any human leadership. The 29th Baluck Infantry troops react as less-disciplined troops often do when facing powerful opposition, dropping their weapons and running away. But the 7th Bengal Infantry and the 20th Punjab Infantry take the opposite approach. These troops immediately shed their red jackets and forced British discipline, but instead of retreating they act as...well...goblins. The Egyptians are unprepared for the massive onslaught as dozens of claws, teeth and dagger stabs that overwhelm them. The goblins soon cut down all immediate opposition and swarm into the adjacent groups of Egyptian troops. Events move rapidly from this point forward. The large gap in the Egyptian line created by the rampaging goblins has the British General Edward Alison drive forth his Highland Infantry. Hundreds of kilt-wearing Scotsmen comprised of the Cimarron Highlanders, the Grant Highlanders and the Royal Highlanders (aka The Black Watch), swim into the fray. To the call of their bagpipers and drummers, the Scots make short work of their opposition. The greatest challenge to the highlanders is actually the still berserk goblins in their midst that attack all humans, friend or foe alive. Within a half-hour of entering the battle the Highlanders have captured twenty of Orabi's cannon, approximately one-third of his total artillery. This has a domino effect, as this group of cannon were all that were keeping General Russell's cavalry at bay, and they swarm Orabi's command, cutting down all opposition. The Egyptians soon fall into a disorganized retreat. Those in the dirigible lose sight of General Orabi himself, but see that most of his personal guard were slain by Russell's troops. A short while later a group of Egyptians gather slighting behind the others and send of an emergency flare, indicating that one of their leader's is mortally wounded. "Time to descend again. I wonder if you fellows could not have developed a spell to be able to see the generals without giving away their position to the enemy. That would have been useful to be positioned well for faster recovery. I just hope that we land sufficiently away from those goblins" grins George. Montgolfier says, "We can't land where that flare went up, it's too close to the fighting and artillery. I'll land a few hundred yards further back and let them come to us." The Dreadnaught does exactly that, and unlike the ambulance service on the other side, the attackers stay clear of the airship. It takes the rebels a while to get their wounded leader to the ship, and he is also surrounded by another group of six Frenchmen, one of whom is a physician. The wounded man turns out to be General Ahmed Orabi. Once on board, Montgolfier wastes no time in getting airborne and returning to Zakazik at the maximum speed. Within fifteen minutes they are nearing the city. "Well at least the English, even their crazed auxiliaries, will abide by treaties. If only all parts of war were as civilized." states George with mixtures of irony and respect. "What happens once night falls? We here cannot take more pictures. Will we remain airborne to watch for flares?" Poincare states "No need, today's fighting should be winding down as General Orabi's last order before he lost consciousness was for his troops to withdrawn back to the town of Tel el-Kebir. And while it is possible that the British might pursue them, based upon my knowledge of General Woolsley, I do not think that will be the case." "Where will we be docking tonight then, and will we return to flight before dawn to be ready?" asks George. Montgolfier says, "The Dreadnaught will not be docking here, just letting everybody off. We need to go re-supply the cannon and the troops will need room for maneuvers." Poincare adds, "Plus the hotel owner doesn't want this weapon on his roof." "Oh, I can't understand why they wouldn't" replies George with a smile. George begins to pack up his equipment as the airship moves to the landing zone. As soon as the Dreadnaught touches down the medical teams hurry out with the wounded General. They are followed by the Frenchmen on the lower deck and then the Frenchmen on the upper deck, along with their guest George Eastman. The photographers carefully handle all of their equipment. As he arrives at the doorway to the Royal Suite and is admitted in, George notes that the medical team is working passionately on the unconscious General Orabi, who is covered with blood but most wounds appear to be superficial in nature. This indicates that either he wasn't wounded as badly as originally thought, or that significant clerical healing has already been applied to him. [/QUOTE]
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AGELESS Campaign Episode 2 - Temple of the Cat-Goddess
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