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Message: <blockquote data-quote="S'mon" data-source="post: 1169795" data-attributes="member: 463">Leo's accountThe Battle of Jarrakig.Leo stumbled from his horse. He had never particularly liked horses but he actually hated this beast right now as several hours of hard riding had chaffed his thighs raw. He straightened and looked around him. The village of Jarrakig was in ruins. The hastily collected army of the Borderlands was already encamped along the river. As befits their discipline, their camp was laid out along neat lines. Most prominent were the Knights of the Scornic League. Heavy cavalry with deadly lances, large swords and armour on both man and horse. Squires ran about, feeding, polishing, sharpening and repairing. Sigurd was there at that moment, discussing matters with Sir Alfios Calekos, their leader. Sir Alfios didn’t look happy and Sigurd was glaring at him in a manner familiar to Leo. Sigurd was forcing something on the man. Leo wasn’t interested at the moment. He had a lot to think about. Sigurd, Aos, Saphie and he were in the camp. He had no idea where Xiang and Tarquin had gone he just knew they were not in the Southern Wastes because he had clairvoyed his friends and he had found only Elros, Cho, Astragard and Titania. Even so, he trusted the cleric and was not unduly worried about his whereabouts. He continued walking around the camp, calculating the make up of the Borderlands forces. The largest section was made up of pikemen. The archetypal “grunts”, solid, unspectacular, their main job was to hold and repel enemy charges with their huge spears. The encampments of the Gaxmoor Guard and the Goldhammer dwarves were close together. Leo wondered how the Margrave had managed to convince the dwarves to help him. He suspected it was something to do with the Broken Bone orc tribe who made up a lot of the enemy army. Both of these groups would be described as heavy infantry. Heavily armoured and armed, each trained to fight as a team, they were both formidable. If the Knights were the hammer of the army then the heavy infantry were the anvil. Finally, there were the archers. Lightly armoured, fast and mobile they were deadly but vulnerable. There were contingents of both crossbowmen and longbowmen. Leo went to see Dovistar. He found him with Laera, Grimhelda, Petronius, Mageris and Xyzzy his old friend as well as an assortment of less powerful mages and clerics. First things first. “I suffered some scratches in the South”, Leo said, “could someone take care of them please.” This was quickly done. “Now, what do we know?”Dovistar answered. “This is what we have been able to find out. The enemy army has a large contingent of goblin archers and a large contingent of orc infantry. This is most of the Broken Bone tribe of orcs. We don’t know where the goblins come from. They make up the bulk. Both are deadly in their different ways. There is a smaller contingent of hobgoblins and gnolls both of whom are possibly shock troops and there is also a group of worg riders.”Leo groaned. Worg riders were not good news. They were very good light cavalry and the worgs were far deadlier than their riders. Well at least he didn’t have to worry about the army. He was part of the team whose job was to destroy Heracules. Sigurd was in charge of the army. Aos was in charge of the strike team. There had been some discussion about the composition of the strike team but in the end it was settled. As well as the group the team also had Xyzzy, the magician of Dulleaburg, Sir Kohnar of Thrin, Trenton Dirge and Red Ivy. Of these Leo knew Xyzzy and Ivy well but had never met Kohnar and Dirge. Having established the members of the team, Aos then turned and said “Work out a plan, Leo”. So, that’s what he was doing. “Their command structure”? he asked. Again Dovistar answered. “Heracules is known to be with the army. Disturbingly we also have reports of a figure wearing red robes often seen with him; but that’s all we have been able to gather.”Leo thought. A red-robed figure. Possibly a red wizard. There had been one in Gaxmoor before he had disappeared via a teleport effect. He had it! Evander had been his name and he had summoned an Iron Devil. An evil creature, which briefly threatened the whole city. The summoning had been powerful magic. Yet another headache. Leo asked. “I have some friends who are still in the Southern deserts. Can anything be done about that? It would be very useful if they could join the strike team”.Dovistar said. “If I use my most powerful magic, I will be able to get them here in the morning”. “Thank you very much”, retorted Leo.Leo and the others exchanged more information. He then tried to put himself in Heracules’s place, imagining what he would do in his position and taking into account what he knew about the cambion. Some time later he felt the glimmerings of an idea. He then went to his tent, laid out his bed and lay down. He started thinking, working out the details, trying out various options and making mental notes. Thinking about the different spells and effects he was going to have to learn. Finally he fell asleep.Leo awoke early the next morning with a clear idea of his plans. He learned his spells. On leaving his tent, he was told that Xiang and Tarquin had arrived in the middle of the night and were still asleep. He then approached Dovistar.“Could you please get my friends now?” he asked. Dovistar obliged and Elros, Astragard, Titania and Cho duly appeared, looking bewildered. It was powerful magic. Leo greeted them and went to fetch the others. He hated to wake Xiang and Tarquin but it couldn’t be helped. Explaining was going to take some time and they had to prepare. As with most plans, when broken down, it was based on simple basics. Leo calculated that, going by past performances,  Heracules and his command team would attempt to kill the Borderlands army commander. The trick was to defend Sigurd yet not get involved in the battlefield beforehand. This was going to be managed with a peculiar effect, which would allow the strike team to hide in a strange dimensional pocket, invisible to enemy archers and soldiers. Questions were asked, further details were mentioned and wrinkles were ironed out but finally everyone agreed. Leo then approached Sigurd and Kanor, letting them know of the plan. They both agreed enthusiastically. Leo was a little perturbed to see the Margrave in his armour, clearly meaning to be on the battlefield. After leaving the two men, he sought out Dovistar.“Dovistar, the Margrave means to be on the battlefield. I presume you and the other spellcasters will be with him in the command group,” he said.Dovistar nodded.Leo continued. “It is imperative for all of us that Kanor does not perish. If things are going badly and you have to get out quickly, please take him with you.”Dovistar nodded again. Leo had one final little trick up his sleeve. He had consulted with the cavalry commander and Sigurd. The cavalry was going to be used as a shock force on a pre-arranged signal at the most opportune moment. To help with the surprise of the charge, Leo made forest appear where such a forest did not really exist. Sir Alfios did not question this but gratefully accepted this as it would make his charge all the more deadly. On returning back to the camp, Leo learned some disastrous news. Sigurd was sick! Leo hurried and found him surrounded by clerics. His first thought was that Heracules’s agents had poisoned him, but the clerics assured him that this was not the case. He couldn’t believe that Sigurd was suffering from a hangover on the day of a battle. Again the clerics assured him this was not the case. So for some reason only known to the gods, Sigurd had been struck by an illness that was not responding to the ministrations of the clerics and he was unable to assume command. The command group held an emergency meeting and it was decided that Xiang, though untried, was the best man to take charge. The plan unchanged, the strike team entered their dimensional pockets.The Borderlands army deployed along the river. Although the bridge had been destroyed, the river was easily fordable along most of its length. Cunningly, stakes had been placed in the river bottom, making such crossings deadly for a charging army.Suddenly, a swaying figure rode up. Sigurd was not going to be kept out of the fight. Making an inspirational speech to the troops, he bolstered their spirit although, several times he swayed dangerously on his horse. Realising that his health was still an issue, he joined Xiang at the head of the Goldhammer dwarves and a fragile joint command was formed. The first sign of the enemy came mid afternoon. First came the sound of drumming. Then came the goblin archers and cavalry, followed by the orcs, gnolls and hobgoblins. There were thousands of them! The enemy army then settled down for a few hours. They were the attackers therefore they would choose the time of their attack. That time came at dusk, when the Dark Folk were not hampered by sunlight. First, the worg cavalry made a wide sweeping movement down river, swimming across and planning to hit the Borderlanders from the rear. On the right, goblin archers advanced under withering fire from the longbowmen followed by the gnolls. Finally, the fearsome Broken Bone orcs made their appearance with the hobgoblins. The archers exchanged fire, both sides taking fearful losses, but in the end sheer goblin numbers told. On the left, the crossbowmen were almost wiped out and had to retreat. On the right, the longbowmen fared better due to the range of their weapons. However, there, the gnolls were preparing to rush across the river and engage the lightly armoured archers. At this moment, the commanders gave the signal and four hundred heavy cavalry charged out of a forest that wasn’t there. They were devastating. Riding down squad after squad of goblins and gnolls. Fierce fighting followed. On the left, the goblin archers were more effective, keeping up constant fire while the orc and hobgoblin infantry advanced. As the first orcs charged the pikemen across the river sharp eyed soldiers could see the enemy command group. The most noticeable was Heracules himself, escorted by a hulking hill giant, as well as four ogres, a pair of trolls and an ettin. A horrible assortment of giant kind. The orcs reached the pikemen across the river and spitted themselves on their weapons and the stakes. The first brigade did not survive. It was then that Heracules ordered back his orcs and projecting his voice, called out: “Single combat”!To which both Xiang and Sigurd replied in a rude manner. Heracules and his motley crew approached. The Goldhammer dwarves made a wide arch around the commanders. Then, eleven other figures appeared around the two soldiers, seemingly out of thin air. The strike team felt now was the time to make their presence known. Heracules was still several hundred feet away, but he did not seem unduly worried. The team began preparing. Elros took out his best arrows and stuck them in the soft ground in front of him. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Then in a dazzlingly fast and expert motion he drew his bow and shot at the cambion. Almost before the first arrow had left his bow another was ready and drawn. Again he shot his arrow and another after. In total four left his bow in seconds. Heracules stared in a puzzled manner at the four missiles sticking from his torso, two of them transfixing him. He stared unbelievingly into the distance. Then he roared and disappeared. The four ogres disappeared. The giant, trolls and ettin still made their way forward. “The ogres are invisible and flying towards us” Leo called out, then realisation hit. “They are ogre magi.” He thanked the gods that he had had the foresight to cast an effect allowing him to see invisible things as if they were normal. Then suddenly, just behind the ogre magi, he saw another invisible blurred, red-robed figure. He called out a warning about it as well, almost certain that he had found Evander. Xyzzy and Saphie and Elros in the meantime, unable to see the invisible beings, concentrated on the giant, the trolls and the ettin. They managed to put together such a concentration of power and arrows that they sent the monsters back to their lines, leaving the corpses of the ettin and one of the trolls. The Borderlanders cheered as they perceived a victory. This cheer was quickly cut short as an intense ball of fire blossomed amongst the group, affecting almost everyone. Leo cursed. It was that damned Evander. He had something prepared for him but had to wait until he was in range. He quickly drank one of his more powerful potions of healing. The enemy was still heading this way. Finally Evander was in range. Leo cast his dweomer. It was a powerful one. He waited… then he saw Evander acting very erratically. He breathed in relief. The red wizard now had the mind of a small reptile. He wouldn’t be casting any more spells for a long time. Then the world went black briefly. There was an intense feeling of life draining cold, the kind of cold that kills instantly. Leo had blacked out briefly but he knew another spell had helped him, but it would only keep him conscious for minutes. Desperately he drank his strongest potion of healing, but it tasted strange and it had obviously lost a lot of its potency. However, he now felt truly conscious. More importantly, the ogre magi had  become visible after their attack. Balls of fire erupted around them from Xyzzy and Saphie, dropping them. Seconds later, two of them suddenly sprang up and turned invisible again. Leo saw them and bolts of force shot out of his fingers against one causing him to drop again. He then expertly directed Xyzzy to place one of his balls of fire on top of the creature, frying him. Unfortunately, the final one ran away. Whilst this was happening, fierce fighting was still occurring in other parts of the field. The knights were ruthlessly dealing with the last of the goblin archers and the gnolls, until the last few scurried into the nearby wood. The price had been high. They had killed many enemy but almost half of the knights had perished. They now faced an almost fresh phalanx of orc heavy infantry who charged them. The knights suffered terrible loss and again there was vicious fighting on the right. The worg cavalry was charging the rear of the Borderlands army, straight at Kanor and the command group. However, the spell casters bombarded the coming enemy and did their best to disrupt them. Almost a squad of the worgs was wiped out as it looked as if all the liquid had been drained from their bodies. A few fireballs exploded here and there together with localised areas of falling hail, which swept riders from their mounts. Finally when it looked as if the cavalry were going to reach their target, blocks of solid ice started appearing in front of them. Unnerved by such a show of unnatural power, the goblins wheeled around and galloped away. On the left, hundreds of goblin archers had been left unscathed and they were taking their toll. Firing volley after volley, they were causing many casualties in the Borderlands army. The knights and the orcs were slowly wiping each other out.  Xiang and Sigurd realised that they couldn’t afford to stay in that position on either flank; in good order they started to withdraw. The knights were helped by the “wood that wasn’t there” which helped them to confuse the pursuing enemy. The infantry started to withdraw out of the range of the goblin archers; suddenly balls of fire and small areas of vicious hail started appearing in the goblin ranks. They started to point to the sky. High, high above them three little figures were causing havoc in their ranks. Goaded to breaking point, they charged across the river, taking fearful casualties on the stakes. The fanatical goblin archers were engaged by the Gaxmoor Guard and the pikemen. Against such heavily armed and experienced opponents, their fanaticism was useless and they perished almost to a man. At the same time, on the right, the remaining orc infantry had formed up in good order, ready to charge across the river. However, seeing their cavalry fleeing, most of their archers decimated, three flying figures about to rain magic on them from above, the paltry remains of the gnoll shock troops yipping in the woods, the cunning hobgoblins about to retreat and above all, no sign of their glorious leader, they decided to leave the field.The Battle of Jarrakig was over leaving an exhausted but victorious Borderlands army.  The aftermath was anticlimatic. Once the enemy had left the rest of the army concentrated on reviving their comrades. Heroic work was done by Tarquin, Petronius and other clerics in keeping many men and dwarves alive. The mindless Evander was found and Xiang slew him with his spear. Many objects of power were found on his body, including two books containing his magical writings. Heracules would miss his cunning. The ogre magi were found to have the markings of the Sato clan. Leo remembered that Heracules’s father was from the same clan. Above all, everywhere there were symbols, shields and medallions dedicated to Hel. The clerics worked hard in blessing this site so that it would not become an area of power to the goddess of the undead. Nearly two thousand of her followers had perished here. Tarquin, now with new knowledge of these matters, insisted that all the corpses had one of their feet and hands chopped off in case the priests of Hel tried to work an unholy rite on this battlefield. In the end there were more than two thousand feet buried in a mass pit.Finally, gathering their wounded, taking their dead, exhausted and hurt, the victorious army of the Borderlands started on the road to Gaxmoor, content in the knowledge that the cambion had lost more than half his army.</blockquote>

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