Dartis and Barok
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"You're the Captain of the army? What army? And by the Rider, sir, who made you king?" Cal sputters, his attention drawn to a new target.
"What a predicament. I suppose I'll now have to keep two nobles from telling my boys what to do." Radnal's comment breaks the ice between the two men, and the other Dorinthians visibly relax. That's when you hear the commotion by a nearby upturned cart and other tall debris set against one another. A way is opened up, and Ventus, Nikolos, and Danica come through with a couple dozen refugees…
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Ventus, Danica, and Nikolos
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The first group of humanoids that are headed for the barricades is much larger than the flanking group, which is now visibly heading towards the southern mass of Dorinthian civilians and ragtag militia. Nikolos swears he sees a tall, robed human with a staff followed by a shorter figure. He takes these to be Silas and Caramip.
You quickly move down towards the central barricades, with the sounds of gathering orcs filling the various streets to the north of you. It seems as if they are readying for a massed strike and their target are the soldiers, knights, and militia in the center of the town. There is no longer any sign of the smaller flanking force, but they seem to have been moving towards the packed and separated refugees to the south.
The three adventurers lead the way to the main Dorinthian defenses and are let through the barricades by some of Radnal's town guard, and soon see Dartis, Barok, Cal, and Kyle Radnal leading the defenses. From the looks on their faces, you seem to have interrupted some kind of argument, most likely about their defenses.
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Dartis, Barok, Ventus, Danica, and Nikolos
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Ventus and Nikolos reach their comrades while Danica gets the families to the safety of the interior defensive ring. They report on seeing what appeared to be the enemy camp on a tall hill to the north of town. A large force of humanoids, perhaps numbering as many as a couple thousand appear to be driving directly towards the barricades. Cal's face is expressionless while he listens, but from his passivity it is clear he is glad he did not ride forth.
The men also say that a smaller flanking group seems to be headed towards the majority of the Dorinthian civilians and some pockets of ragtag militia. They had attempted to flee the incoming invaders, but found themselves at the bank of a deep creek. The creek forms a 'U' and unless the crowd disperses in all directions they will be trapped.
"We need to send our reinforcements to help," Radnal declares, his face breaking into worry.
Cal shakes his head. "It might be too late. I have a total of fifty horsed archers, and you have about five hundred guardsmen and militia. We'll need every bit of those and our defensive positions against two thousand orcs. And if we get overrun there's no one to save those people anyway."
"We can't just leave them defenseless. I have forty men in reserve. Add ten of your archers and we can stiffen their ability to fight."
"They aren't defenseless," Danica says as she returns to the group and checks her crossbow for the coming battle. "Nikolos saw Silas and Caramip there."
"This is a hard decision, so I think we can leave it to our self-declared captain," Cal says, though there is little mockery in his tone or his nod to Radnal as the orc war horns become louder and closer to your positions. "Silas may have an elven name, but he is a battle-seasoned Dorinthian veteran, although I know little of him. Can he hold or should I send vital reinforcements we may need to plug breaks in our line? What kind of man is this Silas?"
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Silas and Caramip
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Perhaps it is that Silas is a known hero and veteran, or perhaps it is because he is the only Dorinthian to show calmness in the face of danger at this critical moment. The spirited talents of Caramip are definitely a factor. Whatever the reasons, the Dorinthians circle around him and listen to his orders, courage igniting in their eyes as Silas' speech is rythmically added to by Caramip's drums.
Buildings are stripped of their furniture, tents are torn and piled on top of one another, and soon the 300 foot wide inlet is defended by one hundred newly determined militia men and a roughly constructed barricade. Behind this lie two thousand civilians awaiting their fate with stoic resolve.
As Silas surveys his thin line, Caramip continues to play and does a quick dash around the inventory that the civilians throw into piles. The militia men are wearing leather armor, but the gnome also counts about 60 spears, 20 halbers, 110 bows, countless arrows, 20 longswords, 50 short swords, and a couple hundred knives.
The two new commanders of the Dorinthian militia have just enough time to have their men outfit themselves with what they think is best before the howling horde of orcs appear from a narrow street. There are hundreds of them, but they come with thoughts of an easy kill as they use no kind of formation you can discern.
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