>having just witnessed a verbal duel between your aid and noblewoman
Me-ow. Hisssssssssss.

Catfight, catfight, it's awwwwwright!

Moving on to tactics, what is the layout of the city?

>>13585569

We really should give her a prize or something. And CommanderAnon, a map would please us

Before we make plans - has the counter attack started or do we still have time until it's begun? I've lost track of time in regards to it.

For the RapidRiders and raiders, I imagine their primary goal will be to scout our around the city to see if enemy troops are incoming.

"What is the layout of the city, and what is its garrison?" you ask, cutting straight to business, trusting your other command staff members to arrive on time.

"Everything is within the cities walls, which are roughly fifteen feet high, the first eight of which are stone. A gate on each face of the wall, that ends with the stone section of the wall." Captain Dorias informs you.

"A garrison of no more than 500 guards, all of which in chainmail, weilding short-spears and kite shields. There is also a core of peasant militia, who seem to be the ranged firepower of the city, no more than 600. Right now, a third of the force is on guard at best, and I would put half of them as recent additions to the night watch." Captain Glenth informs you, yawning as quietly as he can.

>the counter-attack is expected to hit the fort in three days, now that its past midnight.

>>13585774
Ouch. This is going to be painful. 600 archers to deal with eh? I assume the walls on this city are well maintained or were there any areas that seem like they might be weak? If no weak areas, we might have to just bash the gates and go through those unless we can elementalism our way past the stone part of the walls.

>>13585774
How long would it take us to open a tunnel under the wall to send our forces through to open the gates, trojan-horse style?

>>13585819
Don't think a tunnel is going to be a feasible plan no matter what. When we asked about the tunnel to cross the stream, we would of had to roll to see if we could maintain concentration to keep the tunnel up. Unless Pax decides to rule that we could easily do it long enough for a small group to get in, I think it might be too risky, especially with how the dice have been treating us recently.

>>13585813
Well, only a third is on guard. So around 200 archers and 150-175 chainmail guards. Bust through the wall fast enough, and it's over before it begins.

>>13585875
Yeah but that won't stay that way for long if we can't get through the walls quick. Might be worth sending some units to another side of the walls while we attack and serve as a distraction and let the other force sneak in without any direct opposition or at least a lot less.

"Are the walls well kept all around, or were there any weak spots?" you press, looking the map over.

"The wall is in good repair all around, though the Eastern face is decidedly less loved than the rest of the fortification." Captain Glenth yawns out.

"My men are ready to scale the walls and force an opening Captain Beztia (Impetus Marauders) offers, a hunger in his eyes.

>you would be able to force a tunnel small enough for an infiltration unit to sneak through, but considering the weight of the wall, it would be tricky.

>>13585813
Six hundred archers are what I call an excellent reason to attack in the dark. Fuck them and their ability to aim for shit.

How close could we get to the city with our full force before detection becomes likely, in the night? My instinct here is to have our combat elementalists (Wulf, Laelith, self) and sneaky types move in first and get up to the walls before the alarm is sounded, then seize a gate. They hold it while everyone else floods inside, and from there we move into slaughter in the streets where our superior discipline will show.

Our men are planning to scale a 15 ft. DEFENDED wall using rope and hooks?

>>13585919
Hmm. Rather than tunnel under the walls, why don't we sneak off with a side unit or two and just earth elementalism an opening into the wall from a less defended or non-defended side? We do have sculpt stone so we should be able to make an entrance through the stone walls.

>>13585919

How about we open a tunnel under the wall with the intention of weakening the wall with the tunnel's collapse?

Use the added bulk of the stone against the wall.

"You do realize that the wall is fifteen feet high?" you clarify with the captain.

"I, I entered with the clarification of the weak points of the wall." the captain stutters out embarrassed "Our ropes are still long enough..." he mumbles, eyes glowing the eerie orange hue that elf eyes do when coated in moonseye pastes.

"So, I take it you intend to force an entrance along the walls eastern face then?" Gaius asks, not taking his eyes from the map laid out before him.

Make wall outside the city. This makes them think we're weak and need the defenses. They will eventually relax guard and sortie outside the gates.

Then we expect sundown (to avoid aimed volleys) and send Wulf to take the gate while we advance to cause horrible morale damage on the defenders

>>13586103
They're defending and have no reason to sortie out at all. They just have to sit back and wait for reinforcements and nothing we do will make them sortie out. Especially if our assassin does his job and kills the knight in charge.

>>13586099
"If we don't want to maintain a long siege, that's indeed the most promising area to attack. With their attention diverted to our attack, I believe it would create an opportunity for another group to attempt to enter the city from another side."

>>13586141
It is a city. A ton of reasons for someone or other to come out as long as we don't openly siege them. Negotiations, fearful merchants and population, random hunting and supplying, messages being sent or just the old horsing around disguised as patrolling.

>>13586198
It's a 5 walled city with multiple entrances. Unless we surround the city with our forces, which would stretch us way too thin and cost us men when they do attack, we'd only be able to properly sit at a few walls. They can just exit by the other gates to do whatever they need and we barely outnumber them. Why would they abandon their walls when it gives them a huge advantage? There's the additional fact your idea will take a lot of time, which means they can easily get reinforcements to assist them.

We should really speak with Lena on the concept of magical invisibility one of these days. It might be just as effective a use for her as artillery, if properly applied, and has bonuses like helping to keep anyone she cloaks alive.

>>13586250
How much time until reinforcement? I wager some of those gates were walled shut except for a small one or the one they expect help to come from. This should be easy to scout out

>>13586296
Why would they wall their own gates shut though?

>>13586296
We aren't going to siege these guys.

I vote for stoneshaping a tunnel into the wall foundation and streaming our men in through that.

>>13586299

The threat of armies. The ease to guard less location, control and safety of their city. Just drop some beams and mortar to hold them shut, guard the now safer city, and keep a small alternative route of escape.

>>13586362
That's retarded, though. You said yourself doing that makes our life easier. Why would they do that?

Sure they would reinforce the gates, but nailing them shut defeats the entire purpose of a gate.

Because the Gates are based entirely around the stone part of the wall, would'nt we be able to use beak the stone at the joints and push it over? Assuming they're door gates rather then rising and falling gates.

>>13586362
Until recently, they had no idea an attacking force was arriving and permanently disabling their gates just seems foolish. Did they reinforce them? That I can agree with but I see no reason why they'd seal them shut completely so they can't use it. Gates are naturally built to resist attacks and if they were going to wall off gates at the fear of an army coming, Uurlanth has some retarded generals and architects for making the walls like that in the first place. If we had proof they were doing it okay but it's pure speculation at this point and I just can't agree with it.

>>13586400
Makes their life much easier too...

Or would people rather go and build/magic a 15feet slope with reed and wood planks to catch arrows? It is more roman, I guess.

Anyway, so guys, ideas:
-All-out charge for the weak wall, elementalist+siege to power through it
-Stealth troops over the wall (following a distraction?) and seize a gate or cause havoc
-Both, from opposite directions?
-Something else?

We need to hash out a solid plan here.

>>13586492
I'm thinking a combination. Direct siege the weaker wall with almost all we got but at the same timer we lead a few units or have them scale the wall normally from a different direction to sneak in and either open another gate or hit the guys at the gate we are attacking from a different direction. If we lead the other units, we can likely sculpt stone our way through the wall.

>>13586425
>Until recently, they had no idea an attacking force was arriving

If this is true, we could try the charge forward plan. We can just open the land behind a gate and use the passage open to channel our enemies.

We go in square formations, bolt-repeaters protected in center with plenty of reloads to shoot the defenders. Elementalism takes care of the rest (one more lightning strike would be glorious)

>>13586550
I'm still hesitant to use tunnels. Last time we tried it, we would of had to concentrate damn hard and if we failed, the tunnel collapses on our maniple. The idea of creating tunnels under the walls to try to make them collapse seems more feasible if people dislike the idea I just suggested.

>>13586523
I would be more inclined to put our fire elementalists in charge of the flanking unit, actually. Our earth elemental powers would be ideal for cracking open a breach which the main force can exploit; the fire elementalists can immolate the top of a wall section to clear it for scaling by the smaller flanking force.

>>13586626
Problem is the top of the walls are wood. At that point the walls wouldn't be scaleable if they lit it on fire. Might serve as a good distraction though if we can get Laelith close enough to the walls before we launch our attack.

Hmm. Small crowd tonight it seems.

>>13586418
Again, potential to just knock away the hinges and push in the door.

Pax? Hinges doors or rising falling door?

>>13586690
Not really, I've just been waiting for something to FINALLY FUCKING HAPPEN.

>>13586695
Didn't comment on it simply because I didn't know if that was how they worked or what. Was waiting to see if Pax would respond.

>>13586640
Right, my mistake. We'll save that tactic for an all-stone fortification.

Well, our flanking unit is going to be full of guys with ranged weapons anyway, they can probably keep the top of the wall clear fairly effectively for their scaling unit as long as the vast bulk of the enemy forces are drawn to the main assault and the flankers strike quickly. We can throw in Wulf to supplement their firepower.

You clear your throat "That is one very good possibility, what sort of gates are they using?"

"Hinged, thick wood." Dorias responds curtly.
>and no, since they only know that there are Degnarians in the area, nothing has been sealed.

>>13586716
I think the flanking unit will need some melee troops. Maybe some of our merc infantry to assist them while we leave the maniple infantry at the main thrust at the eastern gate.

>>13586730
Brilliant, we can disrupt the stone around the hinges and just push the gate over. No need for a battering ram or nothing.
"I had an idea, The other Earth elementals and I could destroy and shift the stone at the hinges, And we could simply push the gates over.
Hell, we could move on either side of the city this way. Though, i wonder if it's be safe enough to split the army."

>>13586730
Based on that, I'm saying stick with what I put in >>13586523 but we lead the main assault so we can hit the gates and we send our cavalry around the city gates to make sure no troops escape to warn anyone else during our assault. The flanking units will just have to scale the wall and it shouldn't be too bad as long as we draw their attention to the eastern walls.

>>13586737
I thought we had some fairly badass dual purpose troops? Can we get a listing of all our units/their armaments and special attributes again?

>>13586794
The rangers, scouts and hunters were melee capable I believe but I'm just not the kind of person who likes the thought of putting his range focused units into melee combat if it can be avoided. In this case, it can be so I figured no point throwing them into close combat.

For the combination plan, why not have the siege engines and one of the light infantry units begin shelling one side of the city, while the rest of the force sneaks to the other side and with earth elementalism break open the doors by removing the hinges?
That way we could catch the enemy force unprepared.

>>13586794
-196th Legionary
Gaius Rex
195/200
Excellent

-454th Legionary
Cornelius Hoursch
188/200
Excellent

-98th Warlords
Uurist Titius
130/150
Excellent

-99th Hunters
Aurelius Caspius
55/75
Excellent

-50th Dwarven Scouts
Finian Gaurush
97/100
Excellent

-65th Dwarven Rangers
Kyria Esfelda
65/75
Excellent

-House Garlian Uursan Cavalry
Lady Jayne Garlian
43/75
Excellent

-Impetus Marauders (Elf)
Aeristus Beztia
Chainmail, twin combat axes
100/200
Excellent

-Kemnios Swifriders 71/75(dwarves)
Dagnar Mestius
horse Throwing axes, splintmail, lances, battle axes, kite shields

-Clarish Ghosts 93/100 (Elves)
Vesteaus Helmenu
leather, javelins, shortblades, composite bows

-Cornwal Mercenaries
Buckmoore Kystris
Chainmail, spear and shield
124/175
Excellent

-Kharynchek Cavalry 47/50
Vohzd Lennis Greanthi
enthused

>>13586882
The way I see it, if the force doing the obvious attack isn't big enough, they're going to realize something is up. You don't intend to take a city with a few siege units and one or two light units defending them. We need a decent presence with the siege engines.

>>13586893
If you could explicitly list the armaments and any special attributes of all the units instead of only some, I'd appreciate it. While "hunters" or "rangers" is a nice unit name, it's not that great for figuring exactly what they can do.

>>13586921
Will the moon be out tonight, or is it cloudy? If there's little to no moonlight, and our diversion force doesn't light torches, the deception might still work.

>>13586962
Good question. Might even be able to make our force look bigger if we throw a bunch of torches with the assaulting force.

>>13586958
Legionary: tower shields, plate armor, short spears and longswords

Hunters: Longbows, and long knives. Good in forests and at ranged accuracy (this unit picked up black cloaks making them good for nighttime combat as well)

Scouts: Dwarfs with crossbows, leather armor, round shields and hand axes. good at, well, couting.

Rangers: Dwarfs, excellent at constructing fortifications and traveling over mountainous terrain, crossbows, circleshields, climbing/battle picks and battle axes (your unit is also 50/50 repeater crossbows)

Warlords: Dwarfs, full plate armor, battle axes. Shock infantry

House Garlian cavalry: fully barded uursan riders. Polehammers.

Kharyncheck cavalry: leathers, straightsabers, atlatls. Excellent light cavalry

>>13586962
>its cloudy

>>13587074
Thanks! While you're at it, can you list off our independent officers/retinue and their special attributes so I'm sure I'm not missing anyone in my mental tally?

I'd completely forgotten that we didn't give all our crossbowmen repeaters. Is there a reason that we held off, or have we just not gotten enough resources/time yet for a full conversion?

>>13587115
IIRC, it was a combination of not enough time and because the repeaters have less range and penetration power compared to regular crossbows. We wanted those with better aim to stick with crossbows for aimed shots while those with less accuracy spammed bolts with their repeaters.

>>13587093
If it's cloudy, it might be doable to just have a few units hitting one side while we go in the other but I honestly dislike that idea and prefer what I outlined earlier. Just dislike the idea of leaving those units so vulnerable if they somehow find out there's only a few units. Up to the majority I guess.

>So, one large group to distract/break down the (direction) gates, while a force of lighter, faster units scale the walls and open the gates you dont blast down. Cavalry circles the city killing anyone who runs?

>>13587115
-Sansa Kyrosh - aide
excellent shot
lithe/very skilled in combat

-Collin McManerhan - swordmaster
eschews armor, prefering his kilt and tunic (even in the freezing cold)

-Wulf - protege/squire/archer
decent combat skills
good command skills
Air elementalist
-electricity

-Laelith Desteerioth - fire elementalist
very skilled elementalist

-Degrian Klastius - Kaskyana engineer
terrible fighter

-Blackbird - Orc tracker
good fighter/tracker

-Janos
Archer
skilled politician
knowledge of Uurlanthi banners

-Lena
Mage

>>13587243
That's what I'd like to do. I just think it's too risky to leave a light guard on our siege equipment in the chance they realize there are only a few men there. Losing those would be terrible at this point and once the side gates are opened, we can start moving troops from the front being attacked to the other gates that are opened.

Quick question Pax about how long till our hunters become Dead Eyes?

>>13587243
>-Degrian Klastius - Kaskyana engineer
>terrible fighter
But you forget:
>brilliant engineer
He designed and built our repeating crossbows, heavy repeating ballistas, and our autowagons.

>>13587288
>should be done after this battle
>>13587318
>its there in his profession, he's an engineer, from a race of skilled engineers

>60 posts
>We have done nothing but walk from one tent to another.

Sigh.

>>13587380
Part of that is likely due to no one backing up a plan. If you dislike a plan, say so and state why. If you support it, say so.

>>13587343
I just wanted to point out his brilliance. He may not be a Tesla or an Archimedes, but he's pretty damn close.

>>13587407
>that would do it, heh.

>so once again, whats your plan?

My MASTER PLAN is now complete!

May not account for the last bit of posting's ideas.

Stealthily stoneshape through a wall and open a gate, then slaughter them all in hand to hand combat.

>>13587459
My only adjustment would be to switch the rangers with the ghosts. The ghosts will have better range on the people on the wall compared to the crossbows and the repeaters will do a lot more damage to guys in the streets than hitting people hiding behind a wall. I'm also assuming we can take out the gate before we charge in from a distance.

>>13587445
I'm still going with having the siege engines take potshots at one wall, protected by the Cornwhal mercenaries.
The rest of the force will attack the Eastern wall, and by using earth elementalism, destroy the hinges of the doors while the Marauders scale the wall. The Ghosts will provide cover fire during this.

The 2 non-combat cav units will act as communication between the diversion force and the main force.

>>13587516
I do like your idea but I'm paranoid about them figuring out there's almost nothing defending the siege engines. If they do and they sortie, there's no way we can get the siege engines out of there in time. Plus, I'm not sure the siege engines alone will draw all their attention and they still might defend other parts of the wall. Siege engines, our elementalism, Lena and our ranged fire will draw attention.

>>13587515
Sounds fine to me. I went with the ghosts mostly because I figured they'd have the stealth, range, and numbers to effectively support the initial rush on the walls by the Marauders, since that will be the most delicate part of the western operation. The rangers should be able to handle that as well, though.

"Heres the plan" you announce, after studying the map briefly "We will set up all of our seige equipment to the east of the city, along with the 196th and 454th legionary, 98th Warlords, Clarish Ghosts, Cornwal MErcenaries and the 50th scouts. Wulf, Laelith, Lena and Myself will command, there, Collin and Sansa will lead the other infantry battalions against the western faces. The eastern unit will push through the gate and wall on that side of the city, the smaller unit to the west will scale the wall once the bombardment to the east starts, hopefully having secured the wall by the time the other portion of the maniple has entered the city. The cavalry units will either watch for enemy soldiers fleeing through the other gates, or if the streets are wide enough for effective opperation, ride into the city after we have secured a foothold. Any question?"

"So, after we have the wall, will all of the ranged units stay on the walls to fire into enemy units, or do you have a different plan for them?" Sansa asks.

"And what is your plan for my men after the walls have been cleared?" captain Beztia (Impetus Marauders) asks.

"What id your plan to deal with the enemy torches blinding us, once we enter the city with our moonseye paste? The rain wont be there to wash our eyes out for us." Gaius adds, scratching the back of his head.

>>13587742
Have the ranged units harass and hit the enemy from unprotected flanks. Keep em out of direct combat if possible and see if they can cause general chaos but they can engage in direct combat if the situation seems worthwhile.

After the walls are cleared, we will continue to push into the city/clear whatever infantry that is still remaining depending on the situation. The main priority after clearing the walls will be getting the rest of our men inside the city.

The paste... Do the men have water skins or something along those lines? Otherwise we might need to bring water to the front lines for when we storm the walls.

>>13587742
Marauders and ranged units stick to the walls, firing in towards the city.

As for the mooneye paste, all soldiers to have waterskins distributed to wash out the paste once they enter an area of light.
If not all of the men have had the paste applied yet, have a quarter of each company not have the paste put on; they will continue the fight as a holding action while the rest of the company switches from pasted to clean.

"Yes, all the ranged units will be on the walls firing into the flanks of enemy units as quickly as possible, Captain Beztia, your men will keep enemy troops from reaching our ranged units on the walls after they are ours. The men have their waterskins, they will simply have to spend some to make sure they can see if torches become an issue I suppose." you answer all of your captains questions, most of whom nod approvingly, and look more or less eager for the battle.

>anything you want to take care of before beginning the assault?

>>13587928
Check up on Lena's condition. Don't want to push her too hard if she's still recovering from the tower missions. Otherwise I don't think there's anything. Hopefully our cavalry are sufficient for warning us of anyone approaching and stopping anyone who tries to escape.

>>13587980
I agree with you on all counts. Let's get this ball rolling.

You dismiss your command staff to ready their troops, catching Lena before she leaves the tent. "Are you rested enough for this battle?" you ask the gentle mage.

"I'm ready." she replies, her once again painted arms hanging loosely at her sides. "I found that the symbols drain me if they are applied improperly, so I just let Wulf take care of it now." she informs you, once again striding from the tent.

Within an hour, you stand before a sea of glowing eyes, orange and white and green, your men stand silently, awaiting your orders. Lena, Laelith and Wulf silently pace through the ranks, searching for targets to strike at, the Hunters and Ghosts standing in loose clumps, arrows nocked, their heads watching the two patrolling units passing the section of the wall. This is the calm before the storm, at a word, all the fury of the Degnarian Legion will break upon these walls, the air is thick, and silent in the late winter chill.

>make your rolls

rolled 85 = 85

>>13588217
Elementalism roll to break the hinges on the gate.

Rolling for command

rolled 43 = 43

>>13588217
First volley from our archers hits the bowmen. Siege engines focus on the gate in the event our elementalism idea doesn't pan out. Have Lena focus on preparing something bigger and Wulf can start to lightning strike the bowmen as well. See if we can break them with the first volley. Rolling command.

rolled 27 = 27

>>13588265
Lets try this again

>>13588217
lets not yell out aything yet.
And dont tell me we actually carried torches that's give us away right?

>>13588276
>Have Lena focus on preparing something bigger
Yeah, Lena should hold off for now- it's when the waves of enemy reinforcements start arriving that we'll really want her to start cutting loose. Her stamina is limited. Save it for when it can affect the battle more decisively.

You shout out "Into their archers!!!" signalling the same. Arrows silently hiss through the air, scything through the unprepared armed peasants. A bolt of lightning erupts from your ranks, bending away from the archers mid-flight, and cooking a handful of guards. You signal again, instructing the siege weaponry to open fire on the gates, and for Lena to wait and gather power. The first siege salvo smashes into the wall with a series of mighty peels of thunder, shards of wood and chunks of stone erupting from the wall. You lash out with your will, but find yourself unable to focus the rend in the earth to a single place, instead innefectually scattering smaller tears in the earth along the wall. From atop the wall you hear cries of dismay and terror, followed by a single long peel on a horn, reassuringly, no bell toll joins the commotion.

>rolls

>>13588358
Exactly what I was thinking. We don't need her for piddly 50 men units. Plus we'd terrify more of them by waiting for more troops to arrive when her powers are finally used.

rolled 76 = 76

>>13588364
"Hittim Again!"
Then real back and tear those hinges away, instructing the other earth elementals to do so as Well

Elementalism

rolled 32 = 32

>>13588364
Let's hope that this time the roll is better.
Elementalism roll, again for the gate.

rolled 89 = 89

>>13588364
"Measured advance!"

Infantry units start moving forward; we're devastating these guys and will want to be moving into the city sooner rather than later. Rolling command.

rolled 26 = 26

>>13588364
Ooooo. So tempted to try to have our men storm the walls now since it doesn't seem like anyone else is ready to support them. What do you guys think?

Keep up siege engine fire on the gates while we have the ghosts hit the bowmen and the hunters hit the spears. Wulf can focus on who he feels is necessary and Lena should keep gathering energy. Doing command again.

>>13588387
>>13588403
Damnit. A little to late both times.

>>13588428
Yeah, we just seem destined for failure. Eh, our men are competent enough and our enemies few enough that it shouldn't hurt too much at the moment.

"Begin advance!" you command, as the hunters and Ghosts shred the remnants of the unit of archers. A second horn blast erupts from the west, then a third. The guards on this section of the wall turn and start running to the west, and you can hear the tromp of large groups of enemy soldiers coming in this direction. Again you attempt to focus on the wall, and again, your concentration isnt quite there, spreading more small fractures about the base of the wall at the vicious barrage of wood and stone continues to slam against it.

"Orders, Commander?" Laelith shouts, the elf now advancing at the front of the detachment, slowly flourishing her torch. A flash of brilliant blue-white energy cracks its way from your left and into the retreating guards while you think, and re-focus yourself.

rolled 97 = 97

>>13588506
Whoops. Forgot about poor Laelith. Nothing for now since the enemy are retreating. When they next arrive though, it might be worth lighting some of them up...

Keep hitting the gate with the siege engines and the archers can continue to pepper the spearmen who are escaping. Not sure if we should advance anymore now that their reinforcements are arriving. Rolling command.

rolled 84 = 84

>>13588506
>can hear the tromp of large groups of enemy soldiers coming in this direction
Sounds like reinforcements.
Have the infantry stop advance and lock shields, all siege engines and ranged units continue firing.
Force the enemy to come to us.

Command roll.

rolled 12 = 12

>>13588506

Spend a round centering ourselves for elementalism next round

rolled 78 = 78

>>13588542
>>13588534
FFFFUUUUUUUU!!!!!!

Should we botch this?

rolled 41 = 41

>>13588534
>>13588542
Ugh. I get the roll in first and now /tg/ dice roller decides to hate me. So much despair.

>Down with a fever atm so I can't stay up and contribute.

rolled 18 = 18

>>13588506
Rolling for elementalism to break the gates. I say if we don't roll enough we redouble our efforts the next time so that we can have a more balanced result. Pax, we can charge up our abilities can't we if we see fit, kind of like concentrating then releasing? Similar to Lena I guess, perhaps we can learn from the mage.

>>13588554
I don't think so. It's not a 100 so it's not going to be the worst thing ever and the enemy is still getting into position. It'll suck but it won't kill us if we leave it now.

rolled 100 = 100

>>13588561
>>13588546
Charging mah Lazerz mind if we were only posted at the same time.....

>>13588506
Why are those Cornwal guys hanging back? We're not paying them for slackin'! The cavalry are running around, they can ride down anyone who inexplicably got a force behind us stealthily in the middle of the night for a sneak attack.

>>13588560
>that sucks dude. if its any consolation I gotta get up before noon tomorrow since the semester is starting soon, so you wont miss _too_ much.

The press of soldiery continues onwards, as you collect yourself, focusing on the earth beneath you, and the walls. The remnants of the guards on the wall suffer some parting shots before leaving your soldiers range. However they are quickly being replaced by a pair of units of peasant bowmen. Siege engine fire continues to slam into the wall, and from the west the demented song of battle can be heard, the screams of men dying, and others roaring their victories to the sky, making this front seem eerily quiet, as your ranged units quietly await the new targets to enter their respective ranges.

>>13588625
They're hanging back because they're light infantry, and our heavy infantry (Warlords and Legionnaires) are better suited to taking a charge by enemy infantry.
They are better off hanging back until the enemy charges, then flanking them while our shield wall keeps the enemy from moving.

>>13588625

They're currently a reserve unit. We aren't just throwing everything at the gates like savages, you know!

rolled 34 = 34

>>13588636
Ugh. Crap. Looks like they didn't fall for this diversion... We need to light this place up. Have Lena assist in taking the gate down. Archers suppress their archers with their bowfire and have the infantry keep moving to the walls I guess. Command.

rolled 24 = 24

>>13588636
Let's take down that gate.
Elementalism roll.

rolled 50 = 50

>>13588636
Rolling for mah elementalism.......hopefully releasing now

rolled 10 = 10

>>13588636
"You damned idiots What're we training you power's for!" you yell in frustration, seeing only yourself making a dent in the walls with your power, giving it the extra oomph you need to knock those walls down

Elementalism!

rolled 98 = 98

elementalism

>>13588636
We can hear battle to the west? Son of a bitch! Everying's gone horribly wrong- there should be LESS fighting westward, not more. We need to get in here ASAP or we'll take way too many losses amongst the western force.

Well, unless they decide to pull back. Sansa cares enough about our mens' lives to pull back if pressing on would inflict excessive casualties, I hope. We can trust her with this.

And hell, the mercs were the ones rushing the wall anyway.

>>13588695
I'm hoping that's what the victorious yells are. The Mauraders are pretty hard core when it comes to combat.

>>13588636
if there is combat to the West, we're having one hell of a word with EVERYONE in a leadership position there.

They either did a poor job of laying low or moved too early.

Though at the same time... we should have used a signal ring fire from US to signal the start of their advance...

>>13588719
I dislike the idea of using the signal rings in general until the counter attack starts just because it draws huge attention to where we are. Which actually made me think earlier and I forgot to mention it - we should send some cavalry out with the rings to just shoot out random signals here and there. Might draw away some attention from the enemy the first few times we do it.

>>13588719
Their advance was supposed to be signalled by the sound of heavy fighting and alarms on our end of the fort. Admittedly, signal rings could have made that more explicit, but it would also have revealed that we were communicating with a second strike force.

Though we could have had some of our patrolling cavalry signal back, to make it look like they were the ones we were talking with.

Frustrated, you unleash a torrent of wrath upon the earth, and are satisfied to see the stone walls blast apart, fall to the ground, or otherwise cease to be an issue "LAELITH!!" you prompt, but the elf is far ahead of you, a wrathful gout of flame springing forth to devour the falling wooden sections of wall, so fierce is the blaze that more ash and warm charcoal fall atop the stones than anything else. By the time the cacaphony of the walls collapse ends, the sounds of fighting in the west are gone, looking through the settling dust, you see Degnarian troops stepping over bodies and advancing along the wall. Your relief is short-lived, however, as the cities bells finally begin to toll, though you notice that the bell t the top of the ruling knights manor remains still. The warlords rush ahead, and the blocks of legionary troops continue their measured advance, their tetsudo preventing the barely trained militia bowmen from harming a single man.

>yea, the blocks are just outlining the main casueways, smaller alleyways an shit within.

>>13588774

Their advance should have been 5-10 minutes AFTER they heard fighting.

You can't expect the enemy force to be drawn away instantly.

>>13588853
Well, sure, but I sort of figured that the peasants on our end of the fort would have noticed the hundreds of ominously glowing pairs of eyes in the darkness and sounded the alarm on general principles before we actually attacked.

>>13588847
Into the city with our men, and be quick about it. Ranged fire should be more than enough to devastate the bowmen.

rolled 70 = 70

>>13588847
99th, Ghosts, and siege engines continue firing upon the enemy archers.
As soon as they're cut down to a manageable level, have the Cornwhal mercs come up and protect the flanks of the heavy infantry as they charge in.

Command Roll.

rolled 32 = 32

>>13588853
maybe they were compromised?

>>13588847
Command roll: "Into the breach! Rush them! 98th take the right flank and advance. 196th advance up the center. 454th advance on the left flank. Ghosts, start clearing the buildings of resistance. Cornwall, advance in support of the 98th. 99th, hold here and defend the siege engines."

rolled 92 = 92

>>13588923
also "elementalists, clear the walls, siege weapons continue your barage."

"INTO THE BREACH!!" you bellow, firing off commands for which battalion will go where. As your units pass over the rubble and into the city, the peasants seem torn, half trying to find and fire into the archers shredding through their ranks, the others desperately and ineffectually trying to stop your heavy infantry from entering the city. Gouts of flame, bolts of lighting and chained rocks continue to smash into the bowmen, and you can see the Marauders tearing down the wall, some already covered in blood. Behind them the 50th and 65th are slowly spreading out, and firing into what you can only assume are the awakening militiamen and guards. Very soon you will be engaged in combat, and not too long after that, the battle will be over, if all goes according to plan.

>make your rolls

rolled 60 = 60

>>13589044

Command

Late but looks like everything is going rather well.

rolled 37 = 37

>>13589044
Archers pour it onto their archers, along with our elementalists supporting them. No need for our men to worry about the archers, especially once they get amongst the buildings is the way I see it. Command.

rolled 6 = 6

Rolling for elementalism, the demoralizing kind

rolled 94 = 94

>>13589044
Can we use elementalism to subside the foundations of the wall sections that the remaining enemy archers are on, causing their footing to slip?
Elementalism roll to do just that.

>>13589061
Nooooooooooo! Glad to see you but damnit, if only I had posted 30 seconds quicker.

>>13589083

oops. Heh.

>Pax, so we can expect the bigger purple squares to be of towns with this sort of defence while those smaller ones (like the one we hit previously) will just be normal palisades with a guard of roughly 200?

rolled 60 = 60

>>13589044
elementalism roll. when we get past the wall hit the archers (bow 21 yellow) at the very bottom.

>>13589073
So glad you rolled for elementalism before me.

rolled 2 = 2

>>13589147
No prob.

Also, we need to start thinking a wee bit ahead guys if we are going to successfully pull the Empire out of a shitty position that they are walking into. Once we pull out the Lord of Dyron to the field, I'd like to hold a parley of some kind with him.

>>13589193

I'm skeptical of what good this will do since the forces he commands outnumber us at least 10:1.

Hes likely to spit in our face or tell us to die to save our men. What exactly do you have in mind?

>>13589121
>yea

As the last of the archers on the wall are scythed down by missile fire, not even able to fire back as you shake the walls beneath them, the awakening guards begin to make themselves known. Unorganized they approach, a smaller group of them barreling down the streets at your Warlords as fast as they can move, while a larger group advances more cautiously, though steadily nonetheless. Further back the air is alive with bolts and arrows, as your scouts and rangers duel with the peasant militia. From the manor, a singular, feminine scream can be heard, and moments before the Warlords and more foolish group of guards collide a few moments later, a slow mournful tolling begins to emit from the manor.

>>13589221
>a slow mournful tolling begins to emit from the manor.
Should we demand their surrender?

rolled 66 = 66

>>13589221

Have the maruders get off the walls and charge that unit of 100 bowmen.

Get in fast before they get a chance to unleash more volleys into our ranks.

Our archers need to be on the walls asap. Charge our melee units into the unit of 100 guards. Wait for our archers to fire a few volleys into the larger unit before we smash into them.

Command

>>13589221
Pull Lena up towards the front. She hasn't done much this battle, so she should be fresh- if that unit of 200 guards decides to fight it out, I want her to utterly shred them.

Aside from that, I think our usual demoralizing and slaughtering elementalism plus highly combat-capable troops ought to be enough to mop this one up. Get Laelith up in the front unit with us to burninate people, too.

rolled 18 = 18

>>13589221
Hmmm, that would be our assassin, rolling for combat if we are engaged, we should move our men up, strike the head, and take down the beast.

>>13589219
I'm hoping the Lord will be similar to us. Following regulations of course, he can't do anything hostile during the parley. We will offer him our condolences, apologize for any long term damage we have incurred, and depending on his reaction we go from there. If it goes as planned, I hope to have him become neutral in the upcoming battle or even perhaps allow the Empire to travel through freely/help us fight off the undead menace that in the back of my head is most likely going to be the counter-counter-offensive of the Empire's counter-offensive. The reason I am playing on him turncoating is that due to the unstable hierarchy of the Kingdom of Uurlanth that he and the King's relations are in fact very sour. I can only hope for this but from what Janos describes of our resident Lord and what he has been wanting versus the plan the King has in place, I can only assume that the Lord does not sit well with being bait/lure that will not only cripple his lands, but might as well already have been an execution order by the King. Not to mention all the loved ones he is going to have to sacrifice while being said bait/lure.

rolled 85 = 85

>>13589193
>>13589219
perhaps a parley with the gods is in order?

>>13589221
Command roll
plan's changed 98th charge straight ahead. 196th shift right and advance. 454th shift left and advance. Cornwall support 98th

Pax can you mark which one the manor is for us please (unless we can't see it yet)?

rolled 7 = 7

>>13589315
I guess you could say......

I'm on a roll.

*cue explosions and sunglasses*

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!

>>13589315
We don't really have the rank to be the one parlaying with him. We command a thousand or so troops; he commands what, twenty times that? Forty? He treats with our boss, not us. We'd be lucky to be present, and if we were then anything we said would massively influence our future career depending upon how well our boss thought we did/how much he liked it.

>>13589375
Not to mention the only way he'd believe an undead horde is coming is if there was direct proof and they were almost here. I doubt he's going to believe us if we said "The gods told me!"

rolled 16 = 16

>>13589221
Well considering no elemental roll yet.
And Full out charging guard,
Fissures for the charging fools!

Elementals!

>>13589317
>cant see it yet

You fire off a few more signals, redirecting the legionary battalions as the Warlords smash into the small, foolish block of guards, the dwarves momentum causing them more harm than the attempts of the guards. Laelith, Lena and Wulf all rush ahead, waiting for the enemy battalions to reach their range. Judging by the sounds of slaughter behind you, you assume that whatever portion of the marauders was running along this section of wall, they did not receive, acknowledge, or understand your orders. Directly behind you, you can hear Aurelius and Vesteaus urging their men to climb onto the walls faster, already screaming for their soldiers to knock and aim, though the sound of leather boots tromping up stairs is still plainly audible behind you.

>command, combat, ect

>>13589315

Don't really think that'll work for reasons others have mentioned.

I'm curious what type of zombies are in this world.

Type A -Romero slow or
Type B -Ohshi- fast

In any case, we need to find and stockpile pitch.

rolled 22 = 22

>>13589383
>>13589375
While all fair points, I'm not capitalizing on that. I'm capitalizing on the fact that Blentus, is the one who told us of the King's CCO. We can easily ask the Lord that he himself knows the true number of men the King has at his disposable because I'm damn well sure he would being the militarily inclined one he is, and then ask him with what kind of force would the king TRULY be able to marshal with the huge amount of forces that are on the Northern Offensive. We are only being realistic, but if there is no "undead horde" to speak of, what kind of force besides just letting the Empire pile drive straight through the Southern Lands could the King be using. Hell we could even try to convince him that the King has and is abandoning he and his lands left to fend for themselves all the while denying their request of being able to stock up on more soldiers because he had the foresight to see an Empire offense coming his way. Hell, if we get lucky, maybe Blackbird will even get an undead zombie or something to bring back that is still animated to show for proof. Wishful thinking but hey, we can still try. If anything, if he doesn't listen we can lead his massive force on a wild goose chase for us. The auto-wagons are a huge advantage and to be honest, a force like ours would be hard as hell to catch unless they used all cavalry, in which case, said cavalry would be torn to shreds when they got close.

rolled 68 = 68

>>13589451
Alright, I guess we're not asking for surrender just yet.
Here's a combat roll.

rolled 75 = 75

>>13589451
Rain arrows upon anyone that can be seen without hitting our own men. The streets are to our advantage here for the Legionnaires so make sure they stay in formation and don't get flanked when they march to meet the enemy. Elementalists go wild on the guards engaged with the warlords so they can hopefully help the Legionnaries with the other units by flanking. Get those Maurauders down the walls and into flanking. Light infantry should be good at that here. Rolling command.

on a side note. ways to influence enemy impact on our forces:
what do we know?
-the king is planning a counter that will hit us HARD.
what do we think?
- it will involve undead, or at least necromancy. we had a dream that it will be nasty.
Solutions:
1.preventing the undead army from becoming a threat. (unlikely because we would have to break orders to do that and it may already exist)
2. reducing the effectiveness of the coming attack. we can scout (doesn't give much warning), interrogate prisoners (could be effective), have laelith research counter-necro stuff (in the right direction but we need more), or search the cities we capture for intelligence (the more militant and well armed the city the better).
3. make the coming threat go somewhere else through misdirection. (make the undead horde go somewhere where we are not.
If anyone has anything to add feel free im just brainstorming

rolled 10 = 10

>>13589451
Legionaries forward into the enemy, measured advance.

Ranged troops, elementalists (including Justinian), and Lena- blast the ever-loving shit out of all who oppose us before they hit melee range using whatever means are available.

Rolling for elementalism.

rolled 42 = 42

>>13589527
man i hope that roll at least gets counted.

rolled 61 = 61

>>13589513
Well, if I'm not clear on my SOP it would be:
Convince Lord to turncoat with our information + playing on his emotions of loyalty similar to ours where we actually care for our people therefore giving us a huge ass staging ground with plenty of supplies and area to use that we haven't torn to shreds with our raiding or with the Empire Offensive. Gain a large footing in the area hoping that this Lord having a good reach and large influence on the other bordering Lords to turncoat like a domino effect since the King just left them here to rot (puns I know).

I know it sounds like I am reaching, but as we have demonstrated before already, a man's love for his true family is stronger than the ties to his country.

>>13589513
Well, in terms of misdirection, after this city is sacked and burned, we can tear throughout the countryside on our wagons and hit small, undefended towns and destroy fields to keep the enemy guessing as to where we are.
Our auto-wagaons give us the same mobility as an entirely mounted force, so I think we should act like a Roman Mongolian Horde.

I emphasize small raids and battles against undefended targets, because we are operating behind enemy lines and we can't get more soldiers to absorb losses.

rolled 2 = 2

>>13589579
All this of course is after raiding enough to actually draw said Lord out of his fort with a force so that we can have aforementioned parley.

>>13589585
I wonder if we should try to hit more towers while we have the chance. Less profit but it'll make us look a lot better the more towers we take and they haven't been so bad at this point. As long as they don't get reinforced, they go down without excess loss.

>>13589601

I believe that by the time we force him to come to us, he will be beyond pissed and will refused to listen to whatever we have to offer him.

Something more subtle would be inorder. Like using our assassin to plant little seeds of information about the coming undead tide that will disturb him enough to start his own enquiries.

>>13589627
what if he knows about it and is counting on us to be crushed between the undead horde and his fortifications? maybe wulf can tell us more about this guy

rolled 5 = 5

Hell, Pax, could you tell us what the parley system that the Empire/Kingdom holds? Could we just waltz up under white flag and demand a parley?

>>13589661

We have done parleys before. Just about exactly as you said.

Walk up with a flag, wait for them to respond and come to you.

As you rush forward, at the head of the 196th, you look to your left, tracing back the white bolts of death sporadically emiting from that direction. As expected, you find Lena there, a pained look on her face, as she desperately tries to hit only soldiers, flinching noticeably every time she clips or hits a building, her face slowly scrunching up, in both pain and sadness, her arms glowing briliantly. And then, you are pulled away from the drama at that corner of the battlefield, and to the vicious flow of combat. You hack spears in two, cleave limbs and heads, it scarcely counts as a fight. Between slaying one guard and killing another, you signal for all forces to attack and crush any resistance. The insane symphony of combat surrounds and envelops you, steel striking steel, mail tearing and plate being peirced, The howls of the dying and cries of the victorious. It rises to deafening levels as your men begin the final push, very soon, this city will be yours.

>this should be your last set of rolls.

>>13589513
option 4: fail our mission. pretend that the undead are already upon us and fall back to our side of the river. we will lose face but it would save the empire. we can then set up defensive positions on our side (i don't like it but it IS an option)

rolled 72 = 72

>>13589675
Combat roll GO

rolled 36 = 36

>>13589675

Command

rolled 3 = 3

>>13589675
Elementalism roll. Finish off the remaining defenders.

rolled 76 = 76

Command roll

rolled 12 = 12

>>13589675
I weep for the fact that our 10 in elementalism didn't let us do anything awesome ourselves.

Ah, well. Perhaps this time...? Rolling elementalism.

rolled 91 = 91

>>13589708
Thank you for getting in ahead of me.

rolled 28 = 28

>>13589691
That and I doubt they would actually set up defensive positions listening to us sadly. We are but just one maniple commander.

>>13589724

Command is like, the only thing i like to roll for. heh.

>>13589770
I tend to favour those rolls as well, heh. Unfortuantely most of my good rolls were doomed to be too late tonight.

should we start burning bodies of the people we kill? cause y'know... undead.

rolled 47 = 47

>>13589716
Last two Elementalism rolls dude.
Though mine was three minutes before his quest post.

>>13589783
We don't know if that'll actually stop them. For all we know, they'll come back just fine as skeletons. Might be a wasted effort.

You loose a mighty roar, and a wash of ruptured earth erupts before you, leveling the entire section of city before you, and decimating the guards standing against the 196th. From your left you hear a pained cry in draconian, and look in that direction at precisely the wrong time, as Lena levels both her hands, and a massive ray of brilliant, white-hot death erupts from her palms. When your vision returns, the northern face of the wall has a new, perfectly circular hole in it, what buildings where not destroyed by your wave of destruction are simply, gone, as are all hints of resistance. Hardly any guards are left to flee even. To your left, Wulf and Bellatrix are crouched over Lena, whose chest is barely rising and falling, the body paint forming steaming pools under her arms, now networked in a series of burns from the power she channeled. Your soldiers are already spreading through the city, pre-empting your orders, already telling peasants to flee the city, run south or east, where they will be safe.

>so, what do you want to go and take care of?

>>13589815
Let's go call some medical help for Lena and go check on her. The girl is really taking things too far at times...

>>13589815

WTF. Someone get out there, find Jayne and get her here right now.

>>13589776

We all have bad days and good days.

>>13589815
Take care of lena.
I think we need to take her off the line for now, she is too powerful for her own good at the moment.
order the men to eliminate all resistance and find the manor. we need to sweep it, and the city, for people of interest or intelligence.

>>13589815
Shout for a Medicae to see to Lena (preferably the one who's got life elementalism training).

Begin ordering groups of no less than 10 men to begin searching out buildings of war-making potential and begin their foraging for useful materials and preparations for destruction.

Then take a bodyguard contingent of 20 men to go to the manor to secure it and see if there's any useful intel.
Oh, and we'll likely want to have that knife that can slice through metal as payment for the assassin.

rolled 9 = 9

>>13589815
Time to yell at Lena.
We appreciate all the work she is doing, But she knows NOT to overexert herself, and That was overexertion, I want to get Lealith to really crack down on her to push the bill on not pushing ahead of their lessons.

>>13589853
I don't know if we should give him that arcana just yet... Let him loot the city to be sure but giving that away already? We need to establish more trust that this guy won't just run off with it soonish for his own thing.

>>13589815
God dammit Lena. If you kill yourself doing this kind of shit, no one will forgive you. Send Jayne to look after her.

Have our commanders organize a thorough and careful looting of the city. They should know how.

We and a guard are to move for the manor and investigate it. That's where all the best loot will be, after all, as well as any particularly informative prisoners.

>>13589853
>Oh, and we'll likely want to have that knife that can slice through metal as payment for the assassin.
Fuck no. This was his job application, and we do NOT give signing bonuses that heavy. That's the sort of thing that we give as a reward for completing an exceptionally important or difficult job in our service, not a party favor.

>>13589876
Alright, we can hold off on giving up the knife for now.
Maybe when completes a few more missions for us.
We just need to make sure that we don't keep stringing him on, and he doesn't decided to just take it from us.

>>13589878
>>13589851

we should also look for recent dispatches and letters sent to the manor. could be useful

You make your way over to Lenas side, the girl finally coming to "Too much..." she groans.

Bellatrix and Wulf both look at you accusingly "What happened to her?" you ask worriedly.

"You did." Bellatrix accuses.

"That and bad luck." Wulf adds, clearly not happy, but a bit more forgiving, clearly more knowledgeable about the girls capabilities than yourself or her sister.

"What do you mean, me?" you ask, confused.

"You had her channeling power the entire battle." Bellatrix explains "She was sweating just to contain the power by the time she reached the wall." the angry sister explains.

"Had to, protect, cant, fail, family..." Lena mumbles as a medicae approches.

"That, and sometimes an arcane command focuses more of the mists from further away than other times, Lena had etchings that increase the chances of that on her arms, not the same stabilizing patterns she used for the towers." Wulf explains, a tinge of guilt on his voice. "I guess I wasnt precise enough." he mumbles, downcast.

"My... fault... bad, idea." Lena tries to chide as the doctor begins to look her over.

Paranoia here we go:
we should stop using the assassin. what if he was sent by the king to talk to whoever crosses the river? he would then offer his services to the invaders and kill everybody who could give information about the master plan. no prisoners, no interrogations, no intelligence. he is wiping away one of our best sources of information

Get her some water.

"I see. It's my fault for not understanding the tactical limitations of your arts."

Stay till we know she'll be fine.

Add to our to-do list: pow-wow with our captains, retinue, and all the elementalists in our employ for a big 'how it all works' meeting.

>>13589929
"The fault is mine Lena. Just rest for now."
We definitely need to have a talk with this girl but it can wait until she's recovered a little more. And unfortuantely I must be out for the night. I always miss the looting parts, heh.

>>13589929
*sigh*

I am not an expert on arcane matters. I had no idea that preparing a blast early would cause additional strain; that seems almost exactly the opposite of my experiences with elementalism. Lena, please bear these facts in mind and -inform me of your limitations- in the future. You knew the plan, and what you were expected to do; you are an intelligent woman fully capable of adapting her abilities to changing circumstances in an effective manner. I expect that kind of initiative from my officers.

Now, get some rest.

>>13590008

And speaking of the loot, we need to start shifting our stuff across the river once we get back to our base fort. We're almost at the tipping point already.

>>13589929

Is she with Wulf most of the time in battle? We should give Wulf leeway to tell her when to stop if he can see that the strain is getting to her.

>>13589929
" you must learn not to exert yourself so hard. A sword fresh from the furnaces will warp and become useless unless it is cooled and tempered first. You must learn to control yourself or your power will consume you. I do not want this to happen, and neither do you."
she is being taken off the lines, she can't control herself

rolled 99 = 99

>>13589929
"It was both your faults." Time to put on the mean dad face, "Did Lealith put you up to this? Or was this something you found in your own readings?" Stare down Wulf of Bellatrix eyeing you down likely at this point, "Do Not Push yourself beyond what you are able, especially with these rare and dangerous powers that you hold. And you Wulf, you shouldn't have supported her, I thought you learned your lesson when you nearly went mad with power during that storm. But apparently Not! Now I have to be the bad guy and yell at both of you. I will not have another one under my command nearly killing themselves because they pushed far beyond their limits, Am I Clear!"

March to the city hall, because it'd better be littered with bodies.

>>13590020
I agree that we need to have Lena tell us of her limitations in more detail so that we can plan appropriately.

But I am also concerned with Bellatrix's tone. She's in the Legion now; we're very forgiving and lenient compared to most other Legion commanders, but she needs to know where the line is, and she's coming dangerously close to it.

"No Lena, the fault is mine, I gave you an unsafe order without knowing the limitations of your abilities." the girl moves to open her mouth, you put a finger to her lips "No, rest, and next time, use your discretion or tell me when my commands could increase the chances of you harming yourself through the use of your own powers." you finish.

Sansa walks up to you shortly afterwards, a piece of parchment in one hand, and before long, your waist in her other. "DO you want the bill first, or the other business?" she asks, more or less cheerily, though her gaze lingers on Lenas prone form before she begins leading you off towards the manor.

rolled 28 = 28

I was actually wanting to go with the mean dad face as well. We ARE the superior officer, if you think we made a mistake, you are to go along the right lines to point that out. Not make hasty accusations and throw it in our face when something goes wrong and you want someone to blame. I'll admit it is partly our fault, however, knowing one's limitations is up to oneself to master.

>>13590052
If we use >>13590038 and >>13590020 and Bellatrix gets angry with us over it- because this is our fault only insofar as we knew that Lena was reckless and foolhardy, and assumed she would do her job well anyway- then we put her down, hard. Agreed.

I don't like that Wulf is blaming us, either. Yes, we gave the order, but we have a VERY firm policy that our officers are supposed to use their own damn brains.

>>13590063
Let's get the butcher's bill first.
We needs to sack this city, get some rest, and I want to march out in the morning, leaving a plume of smoke so high and large that our Counter-Offensive troops can see it.

>>13590063

Bill. Always the bill.

>>13590063
God dammit Pax! NO! We cannot accept the blame for that! Lena needs to learn that being reckless with her abilities is very fucking bad, and that SHE is the one who needs to apply caution. We asked her for a lot of blasting. That's all. She has blasted things in the past for us, so it was entirely reasonable for us to think that she could do so again. The fault was NOT ours.

It was made clear to us a while back- by Laelith, I think- that the time of greatest risk for mages, after they first begin to understand their abilities, is when they start to realize how very strong they can be and grow overconfident. Lena WILL blow herself up if we don't put the kebosh on it sooner rather than later.

>>13590076
Since Pax has already take us away from this conversation, we'll have to save this dressing down for later.

We've made a lot of allowances to Wulf, Lena, and Bellatrix because of their age. But if we continue to let them get away with it, then it could cause no end of problems when we integrate back with the main force.

Hell, even Blackbird, who has had no formal contact with the Legion or its military hierarchy and structure before we saved him in the North, knows how to properly address and converse with a superior officer.

I think it's a bad sign when an Orc (especially of the Old Clans) has better manners than you.

>>13590109
We gave her an order and had no idea that order would hurt her. It didn't kill her, thankfully, but we are at least partially to blame.

This is why I suggested we get a big get together with all our captains, retinue, and willworkers to have us all better understand our limitations. Learn to do better, move on.

"Start with the bill, then tell me what other business there is." you answer, glancing over your shoulder "And once Lena has recovered, have her and Wulf come to see me, I'm not done with them yet, but right now I dont know how much of what I tell them will take properly." you add, more than a little peeved at the trio.

Sansa hands you the parchment

-196th Legionary
Gaius Rex
190/200
Excellent
-454th Legionary
Cornelius Hoursch
185/200
Excellent
-98th Warlords
Uurist Titius
125/150
Excellent
-99th Hunters
-50th Dwarven Scouts
Finian Gaurush
90/100
Excellent
-65th Dwarven Rangers
Kyria Esfelda
60/75
Excellent

-Impetus Marauders (Elf)
Aeristus Beztia
Chainmail, twin combat axes
80/200
Excellent

"And there is some elf in the manor that wants to see you. Are the men correct in assuming that your orders for this town are the same as those you issued as Lost Conflux? The sooner they have confirmation, not the intuition of their captains the sooner we can be on our way."

>>13590109
>>13590130
>sorry, I started typing before the proper dressing down posts hit (and forgot to F5 to make sure nothing new had cropped up during that time), you'll get one, dont worry, my bad.

>>13590139
Every one of us already knows their limitations, and doesn't attempt to push dangerously beyond them, EXCEPT Lena.
Now, it could be argued that it's a function of mages being the only ones that CAN push themselves that far, but once again, it's only Lena.

There is no need for any kind of large gathering of our command staff and elementalists. The only one we need to talk to about their limitations is Lena.

>>13590145

"Orders are the same as before: Take food and useful things, burn what can be used for warfare. And that elf would be our shadow helper. I'm glad to see he was of use."

rolled 2 = 2

>>13590145
"Aye, bring him to me. Also, include Bellatrix in that bunch I want to see."

Bellatrix is the one I am more urked with considering she, though rightfully protective of her sister, needs to learn how the system works.

>>13590178
Seconding these orders.
Make sure that our smiths and armorers load up on any high-quality iron and steel they can forage.
Also, see if we can't take any horses and wagons; we'll need them to carry the extra supplies and loot.

Remember to tell the soldiers that they can forage for whatever they deem is required, but they're not to touch the civilians; unless they attack first, of course. If a civilian attacks a Degnar soldier, he is to be considered a partisan and cut down.

rolled 60 = 60

>>13590109
Gah goddamnit thats what i Hate!
You take time with a post in a quest but by the time you get it out, checked, and made sure its what you want, Someone else has already pumped out a short idea and had 2-3 other people Support it.
We need to put our Foot Down then, now shrink down and slink away. They will Not be treating us that was, Wulf, Bellatrix, Or Lena. Wulf cannot take too much initiative on other manple menbers without us (seen with the new riskier body paint) Bellatrix has to understand this is our unit, she and lena are Our soldiers, and if Lena is going to be reprimanded (or potentially injured as the cause of our orders) by gods she will. And Lena cannot push herself, she wants to help her family with everything she can muster, GREAT, What awesome spirit she has, But when she almost kills us, destroys a chunk of the city, and maybe hundreds of of our men, That Is When She Is Wrong.

>>13590139
We gave her the order to get ready for some serious blasting. That's all. She apparently interpreted that as an order to do something reckless, specifically to start sucking in a big amount of power and hang on to it while she slowly lost control.

Yes, we need to learn more about how mages work, but more than that we will NEVER know as much about this shit as a specialist simply because we have a lot of things to learn and specialized knowledge in almost any field but command and combat is not high on the list. That means that our specialists need to use their heads an interpret our orders to mean something reasonable. Lena is the only one who is anything close to this reckless.

If we tell our infantry commanders to attack an enemy position, they order a charge, or a slow march forward with shields up, or to stand back and use missile fire as appropriate. If we tell Lena to get ready to blast apart an enemy formation and she blows herself up? It's because she was a goddamn idiot.

>>13590145
Yes, the same orders. Loot everything, burn everything useful, kick the civilians out but don't harm them.

>>13590201
Ah yes, Bellatrix too.

That kind of talking would have gotten her flogged in the Legion under any other commander.

I think maybe the three of them, or at the very least, Bellatrix, needs to be tutored by Sansa on proper Legion behavior.

"Indeed they are, remind the men that anything that could aid our war effort is fair game, and anything that could aid Uurlanths that we cannot take with us is to be destroyed. Any civilians are not to be harmed, unless they attack a soldier, in which case they are to be cut down as a partisan." you reply. Sansa nods, before heading off to track down the captains to focus the looting.

As you enter the manor, a figure slides from the shadows "Commander, both your targets are slain, you will find their bodies in their solar and office at the barracks, respectively. do I have my asylum?" the assassin asks, falling into step with you.

>>13590248
"Your workmanship is excellent. The Bleak Ravens have lost a valuable asset; but since it is to my gain, I can only be happy about it.
"You have your asylum, and your employment."

>>13590248

"You've performed as promised, and through your actions, saved a lot of my soldiers by disheartening our enemy here. You have your asylum. And, of course, with that, your signing bonus." Let's go have a look at the bodies and check for goodies.

rolled 55 = 55

>>13590248
"Gah!, do not do that! Dont jus- Just stay in the light. I'll have to have a look at your handywork first, And, from the sound i heard before, you didnt finish them off before i attacked, you made your move during..." Lets move to see his handiwork, spear in hand

>>13590248
"Possibly, lets take a look see."
lets see his handywork. make sure we aren't alone with him. search the bodies of the slain. search the manor for books, journals, dispatches, letter, or other intelligence.

>>13590248
Before answering this: Pax, what exactly are the political and social ramifications of having an assassin on staff, either if it stays private, if someone else suspects it, or if it goes completely public? If they're particularly nasty, then I want to employ this guy through a cutout only. That is, set things up so that we can claim he's working for, say, Janos.

If legion commanders get away with using assassins all the time and no one really gives a shit, then we can employ him ourselves, sure.

He gets to hang with us either way, just a difference in how he's treated.

if we keep him we should use him sparingly, he is cutting us off from a valuable source of information. something we really need.

>>13590228
>>13590219
>In her defense, Wulf was telling the truth, she had an overcast at a VERY inopportune time
>>13590306
>they happen, and they are kept hushed up. You dont announce it, and you DEFINITELY show discretion with them. If you are caught with one, your last few campaigns will be audited, and any foruitous, lucky, or overly coincidental deaths off the battlefield or betrayals on the battlefield will be attributed to your assassin. If any brake laws, YOU will be held responsible. The best that a cutout could get you would be him taking the brunt of the punishment, and you getting about half to a quarter of it (death is still death though)

You jump slighlty "Please dont, sneak up on me like that. And you have done well, I will see your handiwork before I make my final decision however."

"Understandable" the elf replies amiably.

"And if the scream I heard during the battle is any indicator, you struck _during_ my assault..." you trail off.

"No, I struck at dusk yesterday" the elf replies "I simply did it in such a manner that the bodies would not be found immediately."

>any foruitous, lucky, or overly coincidental deaths off the battlefield or betrayals on the battlefield will be attributed to your assassin. If any brake laws, YOU will be held responsible.
Just so we're clear, though... when operating against enemies of the Empire, what laws matter? I mean, we're killing them anyway. One would think that auditing a campaign and finding that around fifty people conveniently died before the battle the next day would be cause for a hearty laugh and a comment that your man really killed himself some fucking Uurlanthi dogfuckers, didn't he?

Now, deploying him against other citizens would obviously be a huge no-no, definitely a bad plan, but against the enemy, why would the Empire care?

>>13590363
"And the lady, Lord's Wife or chambermaid?"

Stride forth to that barracks first, "Many of my people question you, and my deciding on you assassin. Some, knowing of your raven's skills, question your loyalty, others, just flat out dont like the idea of Dengar employed killers. Likeling because we had to deal with three in the first few bouts of the campaign."

Turn base, "They died, each one of them, all failing miserably in their attempts."

>>13590404
>mostly, yea your right. But if, say, a diplomatic envoy, or some shit like that which would normally have immunity to open hostilities...

>>13590363
I knew that's what the scream actually was. Good to hear it.

"Well then, it seems I owe you an apology, I had nearly implied you were sloppy."

Once we have confirmed bodies, the assassin gets his new dagger.

>>13590416
Get's 'a' new dagger.
Some very vocal people are quite adamant about the assassin not getting the ghost blade.

>>13590416
Now that I think about it, I agree with the others; hold off on the knife for now.
This was just a test of his skills and the practical test to get the job.
We give him the knife in payment on maybe the third hit.

>>13590428
nu-uh. Justinian Trentz keeps his promises (unless the promise gets retconned.)

>>13590415
Okay, then. Then I feel fine about hiring him as long as we don't start taking out political enemies or ambassadors, which I don't think we'd have done anyway.

>>13590416
Stop trying to give out our arcana, seriously. We're already giving him asylum and employment in a mid-ranking Empire officer's staff; that's a huge thing. He does not get the knife until another job or three or something else impressive.

>>13590441
We didn't promise him the ghostknife for completing this job.
What we said was that continued service in our employ would get him access to it, and to other special daggers we have.

>>13590441
We didn't promise that! We said that it could be a reward for service. Never did we say for THAT service; it was displayed to make the point of the kind of rewards that loyal service might eventually bring, not as a "hey work for me and I'll shower you with fancy toys" gimmick.

fine, what about the poison knife?

>>13590460
Not that either.

Well we should give him something.

Dont we have non-arcane Meteorite Knifes or pure steel blades?

"Lets hope, you are a Social person Assassin, as you may be of use to me and gaining yourself my steady pay and respect, it is also important my people warm up to you as well."

>>13590490
We gave him asylum with us from his former employers, an Assassin Guild whose base is in the nation we are invading. I must emphasize again, that we are providing sanctuary to him FROM AN ASSASSINS GUILD.

Now, I can grudgingly accept him to be paid in gold for the killings (a job's a job, even if it's a job interview), but we aren't giving him any arcana.

"What became of the unfortunate who found the corpses?" you ask, curious.

"They were sad, cried and shrieked, stuttered and fled. No harm came to them by my hand." Daeseu replies as if he were reading a childrens book.

You nod "Then I am sorry to have questioned your professionalism." the assassin nods slightly in acceptance. Within 20 minutes you have seen both bodies, and are standing to the side of the dead Knight who had been given stewardship of this city. "I see you did very well with my tasks, so I am glad to inform you that you have both your job, and assylum." extending you hand.

Daeseu accepts it graciously "Thank you, commander. I will be invisible when not needed, and swift in executing your commands." he promises, the glint he had when you showed off your arcane blade returning to his eyes.

>cont'd

"I should warn you, however, that the members of my command staff are most certainly NOT of one mind concerning you, one commends the Ravens, and you as a result, though detests the use of assassins, as do several other members of the staff. Others remain impassive, in the dark, or remain angry at all who work with cloak and dagger. You see, a trio of assassins came for me and several of my key advisers early in the campaign, they all failed, dying horribly for the audacity of their attempt." you keep your voice ominous for the whole of the warning, only releasing the elfs hand after you finish.

"I will be sure to never accept you as a target then." he chuckles easily, eyes slowly fixating on the dagger sheathe on your belt.

"I may allow you to loan out my arcane daggers at the moment, provided my job for you would require them. I'm sure you understand my reasons." the assassin nods, the glint in his eye showing satisfaction at that answer.

>and I think I'm gonna call it now, I have places to be later this morning and need some sleep.
>someone archive please
>I'll be back Friday at 9pm server time
>if you have any setting/random CQ questions e-mail me at paxcomquest@yahoo.com

>>13590514
I'm sure he has a nice backstory and a caring but slightly disappointed father and other stuff we just seem to eat up like hotcakes.

Will character development deign you a reason to give him respect and arcana?

>>13590533
>Will character development deign you a reason to give him respect and arcana?
No, but a long list of enemy commanders who perished before the day of battle and defenses weakened in the night ahead of an assault will do nicely.

rolled 41 = 41

>>13590555
Agreed, and nice trips

He has like an...
Odd lust for those arcane lades though.

Maybe the target of his skills wasnt a person at all, but the treasures he kept with him.
Mainly, that Ghost blade.

>>13590533
No.

Loyal service until the end of the campaign, now, that would probably do it. If he gets character development along the way... well, I don't really care. We already have plenty of characters to see developed.

Giving arcana to random assassins after one job is just not good policy. Only loyalty over time should bring loyalty's rewards.

rolled 25 = 25

Also, archived, don't forget to vote!
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html

When is Blackbird supposed to report back again?

>>13590582
I wonder if the gestation period is on an Orc. We send him out on long missions, all the while his first wife is knocked up. And maybe the Fertility rate is way down?
Because he had this wife since just after the capture of Khallas, that that was, a good deal of months ago. and she only seems to ger pregnant, what was it, After we defeated the stand family?

rolled 11 = 11

Just so everyone else can share in my pain....I had South Park going in the background, and now I am imagining Cartman in Roman Armor going "RESPECT MY AUTHORITAAY!"

>>13590616
I had scot pilgrim playing in the background, so I'm having mild hallucinations of 8-bit CQ.