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<blockquote data-quote="Eccles" data-source="post: 5655136" data-attributes="member: 5675"><p>13th August</p><p></p><p>“King Steppingard’s War Engines are proving more effective than we anticipated, and their effect on the battle will only increase as this draws on so it is imperative that they are destroyed” Gallo explains to us, using a small stock to point and circle locations on the maps of their siege camps “lots of open ground, not an easy approach” says Cricket looking wary at the prospect of dashing over many yards of clear white snow with nothing but archers waiting. “I concur” agrees Lord Gallo “our Dwarven allies have been busy with tunnels since they set up their camp, soon they’ll be close enough to surface and give our forces access to the camps”.</p><p></p><p>It is decided that we split into smaller teams and attack the larger camps first to draw attention away from the smaller camps that Gallo’s own allied forces will attempt to sabotage. Cricket, Silas and Ruby form one, with the others forming another and make our way to the “tunnels”, far from the fine craftwork of dwarf halls, merely a rough hole straight through the frozen earth with wooden supports jammed up every few feet but our guides assure it that “it’ll hold long enough!” as we stoop and crawl along it until we reach the cramped end where a team of four dwarves wait. One reaches for a set of ropes attached to the far supports, hands them over and we heave dislodging the earth above that collapses into a easily manageable slope up and out into the cold are, we charge passed and into the battle!</p><p></p><p>In the distance we can see the four machines we’ve been sent to destroy, 2 Ballista and two Mangonels all behind small palisades with a trench dug around them. <a href="http://codesmiths.com/siege/images/Mangonel.jpg" target="_blank">http://codesmiths.com/siege/images/Mangonel.jpg</a> <a href="http://www.conteco.com/PreView/VA102ballista401.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.conteco.com/PreView/VA102ballista401.jpg</a></p><p></p><p>We are quickly spotted by the garrison defending the area as we run across the snowy field, their commander ordering some men forward while the others fumble and un-sling the crossbows from their backs and a ragged volley of bolts fall around as we race on, while the commander reaches for the horn on his belt letting loose a single note, long and clear, its returned by a high pitch roar and we watch in dismay as the shadow of a dragon sweeps over the battlefield, however as it gets closer (very close in fact) we discover that its not as big as we initially thought. Still its diminished size doesn’t stop it from breathing fire over us (however to no great effect as everyone but cricket is some what resistant to fire damage, and the barbarian was thankful for the warmth as it’s a bit fecking cold out!).</p><p></p><p>Quickly the battle turns into bit of a slugfest as the rest of the garrison catches up and both Silas and Cricket (but Ruby manages to avoid being pinned down, dallying at the back with her crossbow) find themselves surrounded by the enemy (and the dragon) and a rough stalemate is met until a combined assault severely injures the dragon (though not before it gives Cricket a good mauling) and takes to the sky, scaly tail firmly between its legs! The commander is felled next and with the numbers thinned a little Cricket braves the barricade of one of the Ballista’s climbing over it and sets to “dismantling it” using his some energetic language and fullblade! Silas sets fire to its nearby counterpart (the catapult).</p><p></p><p>However the garrisons “reinforcements” finally slog their way over from the other siege camps and with the barbarian still busy (and in the relative safety of the ballista’s palisade) mean that Silas and Ruby are finally surrounded and even though the reinforced troops are a rag tag collection of conscripts, farmhands and injured soldiers they manage to bring Ruby down by sheer weight of numbers and she bleeds to death before the others can reach her.</p><p></p><p>Our remaining pair lead the soldiers a merry chase around the camp before regrouping amidst a see of enemy soldiers and fight back to back, the barbarian reaping a grim harvest while the warlock continues to rain fire and misfortune upon two more of the war machines. Bleeding from more places than not Cricket proffers the idea of a retreat “One still stands” replies the quirky warlock adamant “Take the fake things body, it is my purpose to stay and finish our task!” and slips away through the crowd leaving a trail of carnage behind him. The barbarian mimics the warlocks own actions but in a different direction and forces his way back through the camp to Ruby’s Corpse hefty it over one shoulder and begins a fighting retreat back to the tunnel.</p><p></p><p>Outdistancing his pursuers Cricket passes Ruby’s body to one of the sappers “Time to leave?” it asks “Nah not yet, still some unfinished business, you lads run along” replies the barbarian and stands his ground at the entrance of the tunnel, sending any that approach to a messy end. Iin the distance the final Catapult is wreathed in flames but still stands, bolts of magical energy appear from random parts of the camp as Silas continues his skirmish chased and hounded every step of the way and finally the final machine collapses under its own weight.</p><p></p><p>Cricket continues his bloody vigil, silently praying for the sight of Silas, but when a cheer goes up around the camp his heart falls and with one final sweep of his mighty blade he turns his back and steps down into the tunnel ignoring the troops scrabbling in behind him. Taking the two safety ropes in his strong hands he breaks into a run, a roar of fury builds in his throat as the rope snap taut and give, dislodging the struts collapsing the tunnel behind him, the mission a success but at a high cost.</p><p></p><p>Upon returning back to the command area we are diverted (thankfully!) to the cathedral which is clogged with the wounded, the dieing and in a few places the dead. A trio of the priests tend to Cricket, while a novice is sent to serve the last rights over Ruby in the mausoleum nearby. He returns a few minutes later much to the annoyance of his mentor “It takes longer than that to read the rights boy!” he snaps “something’s not right sir, I tried saying them but there’s this noise, like an angry bee or something!” he protests.</p><p></p><p>Obviously not believing the boys story he stands, grips the boy strongly by the hand and all but drags him behind “I shall show you once again!”, the priests loud and fervent chanting can be heard even over the crash of the nearby battle, however soon another noise drowns it out completely as the church is filled with a buzzing sound, like a horde of angry locusts! An orb of white light zips into the room trailed quickly by the priest and his novice, both of their faces are white with shock as they watch the orb dance and flitter through the room, hovering in front of everyone’s faces briefly before moving on to the next. One of the priests tending to Cricket stands, his fingers tight around his holy symbol, voice loud in prayer and the buzzing drone quietens, he addresses the novice even though his eyes don’t leave the floating orb “Fetch Cleric Costidas, we have a soul that is not ready to move on, we shall need his skill!”.</p><p></p><p>It takes several hours (and a few thousand gold pieces in rare and thus expensive salves, relics and in donations) of the priests work but finally the labours are over, Ruby stands back in the land of the living, if a little unsteady on her its feet and paler of skin... More than a few of the priests that helped with the Ceremony look deeply disturbed at what they’ve done whispers of “that’s not the body that soul belongs to!” can be overheard by those with keen hearing, but soon the joy of a miracle performed is forgotten as the gears of war continue turning and more and more wounded pour in.</p><p></p><p>We stagger our way back to the front lines hoping to make a difference and stem the flow of casualties coming in, before we make it back to the command area (in order to find out where best we’re needed) Steppingards army make a huge push and our lines start to overrun, we join the charge of reinforcements to plug any gaps and while losses are significant we weather the storm and</p><p></p><p>break them, after the third push is routed they begin a ragged withdrawal and a truce seems to be established.</p><p></p><p>Some two days later we are summoned by Gallow, he has received a message from Steppingard and wishes for peace, he is arranging a conference along with festival in Bresk that all the Dukes, Lords and Ladies are to attend, naturally Gallow is Wary “but he has me over a barrel, if I don’t attend it will only sway more to his cause as I will look like I don’t want peace!” he explains “but he claims that new evidence has come to light against the Ragesians and wants to consolidate our forces to be ready for them, so I must go… but hopefully not alone?” he says, asking us to join his retinue as bodyguards so that we might attend the conference and help deal with anything untoward should it happen.</p><p></p><p>Immediately Ruby begins querying and haggling the terms but is interrupted by cricket pushing her out of the way as he unsheathes his huge sword, holding it out in his huge hands offering it to Gallow. The lord reaches out and takes it, his arms drooping under its unexpected weight and looks a little confused before handing it back, the barbarian sweeps the huge blade over his shoulder in one fluid motion and takes a knee as Gallow pulls his own blade and knights him “Rise… Ser Cricket” says Gallow as the barbarian stands with a smile on his face and claps one meaty paw on Lord Gallows shoulder “I’ll see ya there and back in one piece squire, ya can be sure o’ that” and steps aside to let the others receive their honours.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Eccles, post: 5655136, member: 5675"] 13th August “King Steppingard’s War Engines are proving more effective than we anticipated, and their effect on the battle will only increase as this draws on so it is imperative that they are destroyed” Gallo explains to us, using a small stock to point and circle locations on the maps of their siege camps “lots of open ground, not an easy approach” says Cricket looking wary at the prospect of dashing over many yards of clear white snow with nothing but archers waiting. “I concur” agrees Lord Gallo “our Dwarven allies have been busy with tunnels since they set up their camp, soon they’ll be close enough to surface and give our forces access to the camps”. It is decided that we split into smaller teams and attack the larger camps first to draw attention away from the smaller camps that Gallo’s own allied forces will attempt to sabotage. Cricket, Silas and Ruby form one, with the others forming another and make our way to the “tunnels”, far from the fine craftwork of dwarf halls, merely a rough hole straight through the frozen earth with wooden supports jammed up every few feet but our guides assure it that “it’ll hold long enough!” as we stoop and crawl along it until we reach the cramped end where a team of four dwarves wait. One reaches for a set of ropes attached to the far supports, hands them over and we heave dislodging the earth above that collapses into a easily manageable slope up and out into the cold are, we charge passed and into the battle! In the distance we can see the four machines we’ve been sent to destroy, 2 Ballista and two Mangonels all behind small palisades with a trench dug around them. [url]http://codesmiths.com/siege/images/Mangonel.jpg[/url] [url]http://www.conteco.com/PreView/VA102ballista401.jpg[/url] We are quickly spotted by the garrison defending the area as we run across the snowy field, their commander ordering some men forward while the others fumble and un-sling the crossbows from their backs and a ragged volley of bolts fall around as we race on, while the commander reaches for the horn on his belt letting loose a single note, long and clear, its returned by a high pitch roar and we watch in dismay as the shadow of a dragon sweeps over the battlefield, however as it gets closer (very close in fact) we discover that its not as big as we initially thought. Still its diminished size doesn’t stop it from breathing fire over us (however to no great effect as everyone but cricket is some what resistant to fire damage, and the barbarian was thankful for the warmth as it’s a bit fecking cold out!). Quickly the battle turns into bit of a slugfest as the rest of the garrison catches up and both Silas and Cricket (but Ruby manages to avoid being pinned down, dallying at the back with her crossbow) find themselves surrounded by the enemy (and the dragon) and a rough stalemate is met until a combined assault severely injures the dragon (though not before it gives Cricket a good mauling) and takes to the sky, scaly tail firmly between its legs! The commander is felled next and with the numbers thinned a little Cricket braves the barricade of one of the Ballista’s climbing over it and sets to “dismantling it” using his some energetic language and fullblade! Silas sets fire to its nearby counterpart (the catapult). However the garrisons “reinforcements” finally slog their way over from the other siege camps and with the barbarian still busy (and in the relative safety of the ballista’s palisade) mean that Silas and Ruby are finally surrounded and even though the reinforced troops are a rag tag collection of conscripts, farmhands and injured soldiers they manage to bring Ruby down by sheer weight of numbers and she bleeds to death before the others can reach her. Our remaining pair lead the soldiers a merry chase around the camp before regrouping amidst a see of enemy soldiers and fight back to back, the barbarian reaping a grim harvest while the warlock continues to rain fire and misfortune upon two more of the war machines. Bleeding from more places than not Cricket proffers the idea of a retreat “One still stands” replies the quirky warlock adamant “Take the fake things body, it is my purpose to stay and finish our task!” and slips away through the crowd leaving a trail of carnage behind him. The barbarian mimics the warlocks own actions but in a different direction and forces his way back through the camp to Ruby’s Corpse hefty it over one shoulder and begins a fighting retreat back to the tunnel. Outdistancing his pursuers Cricket passes Ruby’s body to one of the sappers “Time to leave?” it asks “Nah not yet, still some unfinished business, you lads run along” replies the barbarian and stands his ground at the entrance of the tunnel, sending any that approach to a messy end. Iin the distance the final Catapult is wreathed in flames but still stands, bolts of magical energy appear from random parts of the camp as Silas continues his skirmish chased and hounded every step of the way and finally the final machine collapses under its own weight. Cricket continues his bloody vigil, silently praying for the sight of Silas, but when a cheer goes up around the camp his heart falls and with one final sweep of his mighty blade he turns his back and steps down into the tunnel ignoring the troops scrabbling in behind him. Taking the two safety ropes in his strong hands he breaks into a run, a roar of fury builds in his throat as the rope snap taut and give, dislodging the struts collapsing the tunnel behind him, the mission a success but at a high cost. Upon returning back to the command area we are diverted (thankfully!) to the cathedral which is clogged with the wounded, the dieing and in a few places the dead. A trio of the priests tend to Cricket, while a novice is sent to serve the last rights over Ruby in the mausoleum nearby. He returns a few minutes later much to the annoyance of his mentor “It takes longer than that to read the rights boy!” he snaps “something’s not right sir, I tried saying them but there’s this noise, like an angry bee or something!” he protests. Obviously not believing the boys story he stands, grips the boy strongly by the hand and all but drags him behind “I shall show you once again!”, the priests loud and fervent chanting can be heard even over the crash of the nearby battle, however soon another noise drowns it out completely as the church is filled with a buzzing sound, like a horde of angry locusts! An orb of white light zips into the room trailed quickly by the priest and his novice, both of their faces are white with shock as they watch the orb dance and flitter through the room, hovering in front of everyone’s faces briefly before moving on to the next. One of the priests tending to Cricket stands, his fingers tight around his holy symbol, voice loud in prayer and the buzzing drone quietens, he addresses the novice even though his eyes don’t leave the floating orb “Fetch Cleric Costidas, we have a soul that is not ready to move on, we shall need his skill!”. It takes several hours (and a few thousand gold pieces in rare and thus expensive salves, relics and in donations) of the priests work but finally the labours are over, Ruby stands back in the land of the living, if a little unsteady on her its feet and paler of skin... More than a few of the priests that helped with the Ceremony look deeply disturbed at what they’ve done whispers of “that’s not the body that soul belongs to!” can be overheard by those with keen hearing, but soon the joy of a miracle performed is forgotten as the gears of war continue turning and more and more wounded pour in. We stagger our way back to the front lines hoping to make a difference and stem the flow of casualties coming in, before we make it back to the command area (in order to find out where best we’re needed) Steppingards army make a huge push and our lines start to overrun, we join the charge of reinforcements to plug any gaps and while losses are significant we weather the storm and break them, after the third push is routed they begin a ragged withdrawal and a truce seems to be established. Some two days later we are summoned by Gallow, he has received a message from Steppingard and wishes for peace, he is arranging a conference along with festival in Bresk that all the Dukes, Lords and Ladies are to attend, naturally Gallow is Wary “but he has me over a barrel, if I don’t attend it will only sway more to his cause as I will look like I don’t want peace!” he explains “but he claims that new evidence has come to light against the Ragesians and wants to consolidate our forces to be ready for them, so I must go… but hopefully not alone?” he says, asking us to join his retinue as bodyguards so that we might attend the conference and help deal with anything untoward should it happen. Immediately Ruby begins querying and haggling the terms but is interrupted by cricket pushing her out of the way as he unsheathes his huge sword, holding it out in his huge hands offering it to Gallow. The lord reaches out and takes it, his arms drooping under its unexpected weight and looks a little confused before handing it back, the barbarian sweeps the huge blade over his shoulder in one fluid motion and takes a knee as Gallow pulls his own blade and knights him “Rise… Ser Cricket” says Gallow as the barbarian stands with a smile on his face and claps one meaty paw on Lord Gallows shoulder “I’ll see ya there and back in one piece squire, ya can be sure o’ that” and steps aside to let the others receive their honours. [/QUOTE]
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