seasong
First Post
Note: I didn't write it up below, but shortly before the battle, Captain Agina spoke to the Keraunesti Captain (Captain Morphalles, a burly man of immense strength and hard eyes). The young heroes of Allas snuck off quickly and quietly during the conversation, and then Agina left. What the conversation was about, they don't know.
Battle of Theralis Ridge
When the orcs finally arrived, Theralis was prepared. Runners had been set up, and these sprinted down through the city, raising the alarm at the top of their lungs. Like a well-oiled sword sliding from its scabbard, citizens emerged from their homes and jogged upslope and into position. By the time the orc tribes were halfway up the mountain, a tight wall of shields stretched along the length of the ridge, and spears prickled out from behind.
Greppa was placed in the center of the Keraunesti, and began casting Earth's Strength on the shield carriers until exhausted. The spell would last for hours, and helped fight the weariness they would face and the shoving of desparate orcs. Merideth, beside him, set her face in a grim mask and prepared to heal for all she was worth. Athan stood in the second line, bracketed by more experienced soldiers, where he was to use his spear to open defenses in the orcs for the other two to stab into. He was wielding the spear from the temple, and carried himself with courage.
Five thousand Theralese, most citizen-soldiers, awaited the orcs with spear, shield and spell. Five time their number in orcs swarmed up the mountainside... Greppa's eyes, and a good many others', widened momentarily in alarm. The orcs were attacking en masse, a crushing wave of meat and bone and spear. The few dozen healers stepped in closer to the front lines, fearing the worst.
Then impact.
The shield wall buckled, faltered, held. Morphalles (the Keraunesti Captain) quickly spotted the orcs doing the most hurt and the band of soldiers charged into the fray. The shield line parted for the Keraunesti, and a warband of orcs, the best warriors of their tribe, suddenly found themselves facing the threshing machine of Theralis. It was brutal, ugly, short. One of the youths with the Keraunesti was stabbed in the gut, and Merideth healed it; a veteran took a near-lethal wound to the windpipe, and Merideth sealed it as best she could and pulled him from the front. Then the orcs simply died.
The Keraunesti moved on, hunting the next trouble section.
A roar went up from the Theralese troops. They'd been hit hard, but they were holding. And the orcs were not so fierce when pinned down by tight shield and spear work.
And then Kyriotes began unleashing his spells, at the crux of wavering orc morale. First, a fifty foot stone python that slithered with frightening rapidity through the Theralis line and swallowed orcs whole and crushed their warbands. Next, a firelion, a cat-like creature seven feet at the shoulder, with a mane of fire and eyes aflame. It lept over the Theralese lines in a single bound, and began tearing into orcs, occasionally breathing gouts of flame.
As Kyriotes began summoning a second firelion, orc spears glanced against the shields he'd raised earlier. He glared at the warband that had dared, and sent the second firelion after them. No one else dared, even though Kyriotes sat down suddenly after that, exhausted by his efforts.
The damage was done. The orcs fled, Theralese spears nicking their hides as they ran. The battle, at least for the moment, was over.
Nightfall
Morphalles gather the Keraunesti together.
"The orcs are going to attack tonight. I've spoken with the other Captains, and we've arranged a bit of a surprise for them. In case it goes sour, however, we're going to be sleeping on the killing slope. Sleep light, and may the gods watch over us."
The majority of the night was spent fitfully, and then the heroes were being shaken awake. They looked downslope and could just barely make out a few of the orc warbands, stealthily creeping up the slope. Everyone readied their spears, but Morphalles ordered them to wait.
Then a number of priests of Allas, brought in for this single purpose, called down daylight across the entire span of the orc line. The orcs were blinded, an immensely visible. With a single shouted order, spears arced through the air into the orcs, followed by fireballs into the knots of the most numerous survivors. Greppa managed to nail an orc with flame servant.
The orcs fled.
The Storm
The orcs tried a final tactic. Unwilling to cut down trees, they gathered in a knot of several hundred, and rushed one section of the wall. The strongest, unarmed and defended only by their brothers, grabbed tight hold of the individual shields in the shield wall and pulled them up and into the mass of orcs; their brothers then stabbed the shield carriers.
The orcs had broken through the line, and were making a beeline for Kyriotes.
The Keraunesti immediately began sprinting in a vain attempt to intercept the far faster orcs, and arcanists forgot their roles and began to throw fireballs into the heart of the Theralis military. Some orcs died; more humans did. And meanwhile, more orcs were hauling ass upmountain to take advantage of heads turned rearward to see the first band.
Kyriotes, however, did not lose his head. He summoned a giant eagle, who lifted him into the sky and upmountain. When it dropped him off, he sent it after the orcs yet to arrive, both to hurt them and to warn the others of the second wave.
Then the Keraunesti got to the orcs, and savagely ripped into them. The battle after that was a blur of confrotation after confrontation. Orcs died, but there were so many it was hard to tell if their numbers were diminished.
By the end of the day, the Theralis military was hurting badly, and the Keraunesti had lost a sizable chunk of their force despite Merideth's best efforts. Still, the soldiers were cheerful. The orcs seemed to be losing. And healers were moving through the ranks even now, undoing the orc's hard work, while illusionists brought "reinforcements" in to mingle with the troops.
A day later, the orcs simply left.
Battle of Theralis Ridge
When the orcs finally arrived, Theralis was prepared. Runners had been set up, and these sprinted down through the city, raising the alarm at the top of their lungs. Like a well-oiled sword sliding from its scabbard, citizens emerged from their homes and jogged upslope and into position. By the time the orc tribes were halfway up the mountain, a tight wall of shields stretched along the length of the ridge, and spears prickled out from behind.
Greppa was placed in the center of the Keraunesti, and began casting Earth's Strength on the shield carriers until exhausted. The spell would last for hours, and helped fight the weariness they would face and the shoving of desparate orcs. Merideth, beside him, set her face in a grim mask and prepared to heal for all she was worth. Athan stood in the second line, bracketed by more experienced soldiers, where he was to use his spear to open defenses in the orcs for the other two to stab into. He was wielding the spear from the temple, and carried himself with courage.
Five thousand Theralese, most citizen-soldiers, awaited the orcs with spear, shield and spell. Five time their number in orcs swarmed up the mountainside... Greppa's eyes, and a good many others', widened momentarily in alarm. The orcs were attacking en masse, a crushing wave of meat and bone and spear. The few dozen healers stepped in closer to the front lines, fearing the worst.
Then impact.
The shield wall buckled, faltered, held. Morphalles (the Keraunesti Captain) quickly spotted the orcs doing the most hurt and the band of soldiers charged into the fray. The shield line parted for the Keraunesti, and a warband of orcs, the best warriors of their tribe, suddenly found themselves facing the threshing machine of Theralis. It was brutal, ugly, short. One of the youths with the Keraunesti was stabbed in the gut, and Merideth healed it; a veteran took a near-lethal wound to the windpipe, and Merideth sealed it as best she could and pulled him from the front. Then the orcs simply died.
The Keraunesti moved on, hunting the next trouble section.
A roar went up from the Theralese troops. They'd been hit hard, but they were holding. And the orcs were not so fierce when pinned down by tight shield and spear work.
And then Kyriotes began unleashing his spells, at the crux of wavering orc morale. First, a fifty foot stone python that slithered with frightening rapidity through the Theralis line and swallowed orcs whole and crushed their warbands. Next, a firelion, a cat-like creature seven feet at the shoulder, with a mane of fire and eyes aflame. It lept over the Theralese lines in a single bound, and began tearing into orcs, occasionally breathing gouts of flame.
As Kyriotes began summoning a second firelion, orc spears glanced against the shields he'd raised earlier. He glared at the warband that had dared, and sent the second firelion after them. No one else dared, even though Kyriotes sat down suddenly after that, exhausted by his efforts.
The damage was done. The orcs fled, Theralese spears nicking their hides as they ran. The battle, at least for the moment, was over.
Nightfall
Morphalles gather the Keraunesti together.
"The orcs are going to attack tonight. I've spoken with the other Captains, and we've arranged a bit of a surprise for them. In case it goes sour, however, we're going to be sleeping on the killing slope. Sleep light, and may the gods watch over us."
The majority of the night was spent fitfully, and then the heroes were being shaken awake. They looked downslope and could just barely make out a few of the orc warbands, stealthily creeping up the slope. Everyone readied their spears, but Morphalles ordered them to wait.
Then a number of priests of Allas, brought in for this single purpose, called down daylight across the entire span of the orc line. The orcs were blinded, an immensely visible. With a single shouted order, spears arced through the air into the orcs, followed by fireballs into the knots of the most numerous survivors. Greppa managed to nail an orc with flame servant.
The orcs fled.
The Storm
The orcs tried a final tactic. Unwilling to cut down trees, they gathered in a knot of several hundred, and rushed one section of the wall. The strongest, unarmed and defended only by their brothers, grabbed tight hold of the individual shields in the shield wall and pulled them up and into the mass of orcs; their brothers then stabbed the shield carriers.
The orcs had broken through the line, and were making a beeline for Kyriotes.
The Keraunesti immediately began sprinting in a vain attempt to intercept the far faster orcs, and arcanists forgot their roles and began to throw fireballs into the heart of the Theralis military. Some orcs died; more humans did. And meanwhile, more orcs were hauling ass upmountain to take advantage of heads turned rearward to see the first band.
Kyriotes, however, did not lose his head. He summoned a giant eagle, who lifted him into the sky and upmountain. When it dropped him off, he sent it after the orcs yet to arrive, both to hurt them and to warn the others of the second wave.
Then the Keraunesti got to the orcs, and savagely ripped into them. The battle after that was a blur of confrotation after confrontation. Orcs died, but there were so many it was hard to tell if their numbers were diminished.
By the end of the day, the Theralis military was hurting badly, and the Keraunesti had lost a sizable chunk of their force despite Merideth's best efforts. Still, the soldiers were cheerful. The orcs seemed to be losing. And healers were moving through the ranks even now, undoing the orc's hard work, while illusionists brought "reinforcements" in to mingle with the troops.
A day later, the orcs simply left.
