It's Late Summer in the Kaytar Floodplains where the Amberwood Company set up Base camp, Having been hired by the Duke of Kaytar to aid him in defending his lands during a time of war.
Kaytar is a fertile plain with a single mighty river cutting through it, the land is rich in Farmland and provides a geographic barrier between the hilly lands to both the east and the west.
Politically the Duke of Kaytar is subject to the eastern kingdom of Akion, And is also the border of Akion and their Western neighbor the Kingdom Kehgandy. They are regularly at war and the fighting always goes through Kaytar, Luckily the Duke is wealthy and has been known to be a generous patron of Mercenary Companies in the past.
The Amberwood Company has been camped for three days now at a strategic location near one of the only reliable river crossings. And have fortified the crossing and are awaiting promised reinforcements from the east.
- Scouting and Alerting Camp of any enemy movement or encampments.
- Engage with any force attempting to perform a river crossing. and repel or Stall till a greater force can arrive.
- Maintain at-ready force of Light Calvary in the Camp for rapid response missions.
-Engage with other scouting parties If it can be done with minimal casualties.
-Seizing enemy provisions if any are located.
-Perform flash raids on any enemy encampment located if it can be done with minimal casualties.
You have been explicitly ordered to not loot, Press, or seize goods from any force that is not the enemy, The local population is Katari and the Duke wishes to minimize casualties. There are common practices of war you are expected to maintain when it comes to your duties, Such as how many patrols you need to have out at once, and how you need to rotate them, But you are well trusted by your Marshal and he leaves you to act on your own initiative beyond such things.
Update: There are armies in the West but the main force remains in the hills. The Eastern forces have not been spotted and are believed to be anywhere from 5-7 days away. In the West across the river there are two forts lightly garrisoned by men loyal to the Duke.
Reports: The Two forts have reported spotting scouting parties in the valley, Your men have encountered two scouting parties to the west but no contact was made. They report the scouts where moderately armed and consisted of fully mounted parties of 6.
Camp Status:: The Camp is well garrisoned and well provisioned, Deliveries of provisions arrive on schedule.
You are free to decide how duties are handled, and of course you can personally lead patrols or remain in camp and manage your crew, There is merit in this action as it allows you to personally respond to changing information, For example, If some patrols encounter men crossing the river, It'll be easier to charge out if you are at camp, verses if you are across the river scouting. It's all up to you!
Captain Hawke stares long and hard at the campaign map before letting out a sigh. He places a few pins around the two forts marking where he thinks Scouts might be patrolling to alert the enemy of approaching allies. He glances at the faces of his squad leaders before nodding to himself.
I'd like to sally forth, but if something critical comes up, I need to be ready...until then...
"Send out two squads. Twelve horse should crush the patrols if the report from the forts are true. Circle around the forts, give them a wide berth. Engage the enemy scouts if it looks favorable. On your way back, see if the forts have anything new to report." He circles the forts with his finger as he talks.
"Everyone else, continue to rest, run drills and do maintenance. I'll be by the training ground to oversee later today. Dismissed." Garett then swings by to brush Dauntless on his way to the training ground before squeezing in some training for the day.
You spend the day training with the men, Every few hours new patrols go out while others return, The ones who scout the river and the Flank report no news. The riders who cross the river mostly report nothing, though you get a few reports of peasants heading towards the bridge, some of them claiming men on horses burst into their homes and stole their livestock and ran them off.
Near the When noon rolls around you are approached by Elf who you recognize as the companies War Wizard, The Elf Grynweldyn. The War Wizard is the second highest payed member of the company, Claiming a whopping 10% of all company profits, The same cut you receive, though he only has a few scroll readers he needs to pay, you have to divide yours between 180 riders. Though you've seen him Turn entire battles in your favor so you could argue he's well worth the pay.
He inquires about the scouting, and if you're men have seen any trouble. After you give him the news he says.
"Good, be careful though, My crystal ball is cloudy, and the my mind struggles to see past the river, A strong force works against us"
with that ominous warning he answers any questions you might have, then leaves.
As it starts to get dark, and patrols pull back closer to the camp, Come out of your tent to see fires in the distance, almost on queue one of your men comes charging into camp. Saluting you before speaking.
"Sir! The Kehgandy, They are raiding the border villages and setting the fields alight."
Armies typically raid and area right before moving into it. With this news the Marshal calls a meeting.
This consists Meeting consist of the High Commanders,
You, the Commander of the Heavy Chargers, Commander of the Archers and Commander of the Footmen. As well as the Quartermaster and Bookkeeper. Grynweldyn, as well as the Duke of Kaytar and some of his Knights. The Marshal explains the situation and asks everyone here what they think is the best plan of action.
The Commander of the Heavy Chargers gives the same recommendation he always gives, He wants to go out with his boys and attack head on.
The Duke wants to send a force out to join us with the garrisons at the forts and hold the enemy back to his common people can retreat across the river. He also says he will lend a good deal of his own men to help with this, The Duke's knights side with him as does the Commander of the Archers.
Everyone else wants to hold the line at the river.
"And you Hawke?" asks the Marshal.
So lets describe your Fellows.
Your Marshall is named Brock Law, he's a Stern leader who demands a great deal of respect and work from his underlings, he's nearing his 50's and mostly commands from the back now, but he's tactically gifted and has seen more wars then he has finger, Of which he has 7. Despite this the people he promotes he listens too, And will take their say into account, But this is no Democracy and in the end he has final say, and his word is law. He also Hates Marshal Law jokes, despite that someone always cracks one after he gives orders.
The Commander of the Heavy Chargers is a giant man named Kren, He's a savage of a man, Unlike the rest of his men he wears almost no armor, and is known to go into a bloody rage when he fights, even scarier then him is his horse, Almost as infamous as yours the creature is as wild as his owner and joins in his masters frenzy. He's fearless and a little on the dim side, but since 90% of the time in battle, The Heavy Calvary charges into the fray, you need to be fearless. He's also not a bad guy, Found of drinking and arm wrestling, he's a good guy to have on your side.
The Commander of the Archers is a man name Ostfriedhof Kent, He's a young man in his late teens with a funny accent, A Foreigner he's the best shot most people have ever seen, He's a friend to his men and most of them refer to him by his first name, He will almost always argue for a tactic that involves helping or saving people if he can find one, and unlike most people he'll openly protest the against the Marshal's decisions, though he always follows it in the end.
Finally the Commander of the Foot men is named Gram Scotts, His as old as the Marshal and has been in the company as long, He's known for his good grasp on tactics and efficient system of command. He's also good friends with the Marshal, the both of them spending a good deal of time drinking and talking about the good old days.
The Quartermaster and the Bookkeeper are not as important, they look common and are probably fat and bald. They complain constantly about all the money the commanders spend and are always claiming to be stretched thin on supplies when they are need, they do their jobs well and are vital to the company.
Garett scratches at his chin and stares at the map.
"I don't think we can afford to abandon the forts. That would give them a strong staging ground to trade blows with us at the river. I agree with Milord. Bolstering the forts seems a sound plan. I think we need to threaten the enemy however. I'd like to take my Dusthawkes to harry the raiders and get them to pull back to cover their supply lines. That should buy us time to ready the forts for prolonged battle and can buy time for the folk to get themselves scarce. Once we've bloodied their nose, we'll pull back to the forts."
Finally Hawke looks up to the more seasoned veterans.
"I have not been on campaign as long however so I will defer to the judgment of my betters."
There is a murmur from everyone but the Duke, Who instead shakes his head.
"I like your plan Commander Hawke, For the most part. But I plan to have my men Abandon the forts, they cannot hold against a proper siege and even fully garrisoned they couldn't put sufficient pressure on a full army to keep them from storming the bridge. The River is the best spot to hold, Look."
he leans over to point at the map.
"These forts are glorified watchtowers, though don't tell their baron's that. When ever an army comes in from the west, we use the Sulfur barrels I keep stored there to blow the walls and we pull back past the river. A Calvary force half your size could patrol that river, and it protects better then any wall could. We should do what you said, Send your men out with some of my own, Hold the raiders at bay till we blow the walls, then pull back with Our men and what commoners can make it back to the bridge."
The Duke talks as if this is something he's done many times, Will you defer to him or argue your case, The Marshal can be persuaded by a good argument, and you're the best commander when it comes to making a convincing argument.
Garett nods in agreement.
"You know your land better than I, Milord. I look forward to fighting with your men. I'm glad the forts won't be of any use to them. I'll have my men ready at once."
Good to know the border lords have a few tricks up their sleeves.
They begin discussing how they are going to dedicate their troops, It's decides that the Heavy Calvary will stay in camp ready to respond if these raiders are just the head of the larger army and they try to push the attack to the bridge. Two squads of archers will follow the Light Calvary to give support fire as will the Wizard.
Once these maneuvers are decided, the last thing to settle is how many troops you want to dedicate to the attack. The Marshal will want some troops left behind in reserve and to keep up patrols behind the line, but he's leaving the amount of units at your disposal up to you.
Here are the facts you know and should consider.
-The forces that have been spotted are light Calvary.
-You know they are modestly armed, Light armor, lances, blades, no magic to speak of.
-Typically the first raids are the preempt to a full army movement. But a full army movement directly preceding the opening raids and at night is going to lead to disorganization, and thus is unlikely.
-The Art of war states "Never commit more or less then is absolutely needed for a maneuver."
Think of it like this:
20% - Light Assault
40% - Moderate Assault
60% - Heavy Assault
80% - Full Assault
To the Marshal:
"I am a bit unfamiliar with the Kehgandy's army compositions. Do the westerners have any particularly deadly specialists?"
To the Duke:
"Should we need to make a fighting retreat, I'd like to know what the best route is and where we might be able to bleed the enemy for every inch."
To the Bookkeeper & Quartermaster:
"I hope to catch or set fire to a portion of their supply train. What do you think would be the best target or method of doing that? Do we have alchemist's fire in stock?"
To Ostfriedhof:
"I intend to hit hard and fast before retreating, will the Archers be able to keep up? How do you recommend I use them?"
The Marshal admits that it's exact composition is unknown, attempts to scry information has failed, So they have magical aid, The Duke claims that reports he's received say the gathering force numbers in the thousands, and consists of mostly ground troops and light Calvary, The Duke claims from experience that the heavy troops need to travel a long way through hilly terrain from the core regions and normally take a while to muster.
The Duke As for the best route, since the land is so open and flat, the best route is a straight line. Especially on horseback. but it does mean the flanks need to be covered. The Commander of the melee troops is on that.
You know there is Alchemist fire, They keep a couple barrels of the stuff buried a stone's throw from the camp, They grumble at it, but it's there to be used so they have no reason to not give you and your men some, Though you know that a small raiding force like this is unlikely to have a supply train to raid, and that if not a tactically viable tactic unless the enemies army moves more into your territory, Or your willing to go behind enemy lines, If you ask if you can move behind enemy lines Law gives you a firm No.
Ostfriedhof says that they are going to do a "Night Rain" maneuver. You are familiar with this tactic, They are going to coordinate with Grynweldyn to rain arrows down on the enemies in the distance, They don't plan on pushing up as far down the line as you, and when the fighting retreat starts they should be able to easily move behind the Melee's line before any significant force reaches them.
After is all said is done, this plan is:
The A force of Light Calvary consisting of Amberwood and the Duke's men will push to the forts and engage the raiders, holding any advance long enough for the Garrisons to destroy and evacuate the forts, Grynweldyn and the Archers will provide support to the front line, While a defensive force of Melee troops will hold the flank and act as the retreating line.
"The Defensive line at the river is the most important position we have at the moment, if there is any chance of an overrun, We pull back to the river. If that means we have to leave the Garrison's behind then so be it. Are we all good on the plan" Say's Law as a final note.
Law likes there to be consensus on plans, It's not necessary since he does have final say, But he does like it.
"Aye sir. I'll personally lead a modest force for the raid. I'll leave the majority of my forces to do as you see fit. Let's show these Kehgandy dogs true mettle." With that, Hawke stays until the war council is adjourned before leaving to ready his men and get Dauntless from the stable.
Everything is settled then, there are two forts, One to the North and One to the South, The Duke says he will lead men to the Northern fort so you should take the southern one. There is no real tactical difference in the forts, they are both hilltop forts that command a view of the area leading up to the main bridge, If you where to ride hard you could easily cover the distance between the forts in about 20 minuets so they are not far from each other.
Within the hour the men are readied up. You are given a standard officers field pack, It comes with:
1 Cure Moderate Wounds Potion
1 Cure Light Wounds Potion
Bandages
two Sunsticks
and 3 days worth of marching biscuits.
You're also given a special signal horn, Most men have a signal horn, it's used to coordinate the army and make maneuver commands mid battle, But the one given to you and your fellow commanders are magical in nature, Far louder then a normal horn of it's size would be and with a distinct sound that makes it obvious which officer is sounding it.
It can be used to signal to your men basic maneuvers Such as Attack, Next Maneuver, Pull back, retreat, to me, as well as basic compass directions, as well as other messages so long as they are simple.
Yours and the Dukes men ready up and within the hour you ride out, Your men spreading out over the field in groups of twelve, You heading towards the southern fort. As you charge over the field you spot some activity in the distance, A fairly large crowd of people in a field, you spot about 6 horses, They quickly spot you and 4 out of the six horsemen turn tail and run, The other two's riders where un-mounted and they need a moment to leap on their horses, just long enough that a good charge would cover the distance, the 20 or so men with you are spread out over a good 200 foot area, but all are within earshot, and as well trained as they are none of them give chase without your order.
Garett lets out a shrill whistle and gestures for some of his men to give chase to the riders. For everyone else...
Garett bellows and couches his lance whilst ushering Dauntless forward with his legs. He charges one of the horsemen who had yet to mount their horse.
The man just manages to get on his horse when your Lance goes straight through his back, killing him instantly, Your companions ride around you and the crowd of people (Who appear to just be farmer folk) and before the other companion has a chance to move, he has a lance stuck into him too. The others ride on by to keep up the chase on the other chargers. You notice that some of the peasants are injured, many have had their clothes ripped, and on the ground in the mud lies a dead man. You also notice tied up on the back of the horse is of the man you just slew is a woman who has been tied up, Kidnapping common women in enemy lands is a common practice by invading armies. Typically frowned on by all but the most savage armies, But most officers turn a blind eye to it since it keeps moral up.
Garett flicks a belt knife into his hand with practiced speed and cuts the woman's bonds in one fluid motion before sheathing it whilst also ushering Dauntless after the rest of his men chasing the other riders.
"Get to the river, the Duke is going to hold the enemy there!" Garett yells at the peasant folk and leaves before seeing if they heed his command.
"Es Me'lard"
they say, heading towards the river as commanded.
You join your men in the chase, But their horses are as swift as yours and on this open terrain you can't seem to close the distance, but you are pushing them back. After a few minuets of chasing you see smoke in the distance, and it's not long before you can see the cause, Long fields of grain smoldering. You can see the fort you need to reach, and as you get closer to it, You can see men on horses darting towards the forts to throw vials of alchemist fire and torches up onto the fort's wooden ramparts, You can see the smoke behind the fort's walls, A horn blows out and the men on horses reign around and dart back towards the west, covering the distance between the fort and a smoldering field before you can reach it. Some of your men are gathering their horses at the fort, others are pacing along the edge of the smoldering field, From the hill the fort rests on you can see the other fort, and more fields as well as clusters of building aflame, The whole field between the two forts is full of men on horse, And you can see more groups of people on foot fleeing the flames towards the river.
When you approach the fort the gate raises and an A man in splendid Armor and an equally armored horse.
"We must thank you Sir for chasing them off, there was no way we could set up the barrels with those men tossing fire past the walls, we should be safe to do it now, But it will take a few minuets to get all the charges set up."
The man who has the look of a knight holds out a hand to you.
When you approach the fort the gate raises and an A man in splendid Armor and an equally armored horse. comes out
Garett clasps the man's arm in greeting.
"We'll keep a patrol around the forts. Is there any news?"
"Nothing new, They Set Malcolmsfield afire round dusk break, and the fields soon after, they've been running down peasants and throwing stuff at the walls, but they've made no attempt to siege, We've counted at least 30 men"
You hear a horn near by blow from the direction of the burning field. as the knight points across the burning field.
"They are just burning and looting like Hooligans, I wished to meet them on the field but my lord commanded me to hold."
"I'll see if we can run them off before we pull back to the river." Garett reins Dauntless about and moves back to his men.
"Alright Dusthawks! Form up, we'll run these dogs down before we pull back to the river. Stay close, don't let them split you off."
As your men gather up to ready the sweep you hear another horn blast from the field followed by a scream of voices as about 20 men come charging from the smoke of the field, Their light lances lowered as they begin a charge across the field towards your forming line.
Looks like they had a similar idea. You where smart to form your men up so quickly, They will cross the field to meet your line in one turn.
Your Manpower: 30
Their Manpower: 20
"Meet the enemy! Cover the flanks!" Garett lowers his lance and charges to meet the enemy.
When you let out your battle cry the men around you join in, Bravely leaning into the charge as the two lines collide. There is screams of men and horses as lances pierce eachother across the line.
2 of the Enemy strikes drift low and target horses. 4 of your men's attacks strike horses
Metal clashes and wood snaps, The lance charge is always the most dangerous part of an engagement, to simply put. there is no chance of surviving a lance charge if you're struck, Pending magic or extraordinary abilities. 3 of your men fall in the charge as the horses collide and one of your men's horses buck into the air throwing his rider off as a lance pierces it's hide. But your men give more then they take, 8 of the enemies men colliding with lances, One of them at the end your lance, and four of their horses going down screaming. Both your men and the enemy start dropping their lances and drawing blades, Taking swipes at one another as people reign their horses trying to calm the riled creatures and wheel them around.
Overhead you see the signature Silver Disk of a War Wizard swiftly gliding through the sky, The Signature robes of a war wizard were elaborate, Layers of cloth that where dyed a variety of colors, in this case Yellows Blues and Purples. The Robes made the wizard look massive, the pointed tip reaching ten feet in the air. It was also impossible to see the wizard underneath the robes. They where designed to make the War Wizard look imposing and inhuman, as well as make easy for Allies and enemies alike to see him. A Moral boost for allies and a frightening sight to most enemies. The Wizard also holds a knarled staff that towers as tall as the robe it's self.
10 Light Calvary
4 Unmounted Calvary
27 Light Calvary
1 Unmount Calvary
1 War Wizard
Garett pulls his lance free of his initial quarry and slides it into the sheath on Dauntless' saddle. He draws the heavy blade on his back and attempts to cleave the man and his horse together.
You grievously injure the man but you don't kill him, The same can't be said for his horse who collapses screaming, taking the man down with it. There is a brief clattering of blades and armor between your men and the enemy, resulting in a few cuts but not enough to down anyone, the men finally able to wheel their horses around and quickly ebb away, the battered riders riding away back towards to Smokey field. Leaving only the few men who fell from their horses to contend with your men.
"Don't give chase"
you hear in your head, the echoy voice of Grynweldyn as he raises one of his hands, four bright red lights appearing over the burning field, Seconds latter arrows start to rain down over where the lights hover.
"Acceptable work Hawke, But the flow of battle ripples downstream, Hold."
He commands in his typical condescending tone.
The Disk spins around in the air and jets off towards the other fort leaving you and your men, Some of the men pull out potions to drink, others trade blades with the men who where left behind.
After a few minuets the knight from the fort comes back out. "The Charges are in place Ser, Should we go now?"
You also begin to hear the sounds of familiar horns coming from the direction of the other fort.
2 short blasts and 1 long blast.
Pullback,
then 4 shorts blasts followed by a long continuous blast.
Overun.
"Where is the Duke currently? Blow the charges and prepare to withdraw to the river." Garett ponders taking the men from the fort to run a sortie to get the men from the other fort free.
He looks to his men questioningly. "How are we on wounded and slain?"
You don't get a response back from the War wizard, And that really shouldn't surprise you, The 15 garrison men in the fort come clambering out just seconds before there are explosions, Chunks of the stone wall going flying, leaving gaping holes in the wall.
"No one will be holding that for a while, So we're retreating to the river?"
Asks the knight.
"I was hoping to join my lord, He's at the other fort correct?"
You hear more retreat horns start to blast, if you look across the field you can see a large gathering of mounted men and men on foot appearing over the horizon hustling across the field in a Southeastern direction, They are moving towards the river and they are carrying the Yellow banners of the Duke.
"There is your answer. Regroup with him at the river, you'll slow him down if you head over now."
"Back to the river, men!" With that, Garett rallies his men together, finishes off the stragglers and gallops for the river.
The Group of men ride on a small pack breaking off and heading towards you, the head of the pack lead by the Duke himself as well as a heavily armored honor guard. The Duke has lost his helmet, and the side of his face is scorched and black and his armor is black with soot."
"Hawke, and Ser Lillam, Glad to see you've not betrayed me, Things went real wrong on our end Hawke, The Garrison would not vacate, Ser Cole had commanded them to ignore their rightful lord's orders, before I knew it the heavy chargers where upon us, The Garrison fired at us from the battlements, They even had a damn War Wizard who tried to cook me alive, It was an ambush plain and simple. They knew I would go there..."
Said the duke, As you ride along towards the bridge you can see Small groups of your men also charging towards the bridge, blowing their own horns to carry your message along, And in the distance on the horizon past a hill you can make out what appears to be lighting and explosions going off in the air. After good hard ride you make it back to the defensive line without issue, Soon after the group that went with the duke arrive many of them are injured and burned. One of the men informs you and the duke that they where chased for a bit, but once the enemies war wizard got distracted by Grynweldyn they pulled back.
You're at the line now, People are trickling to the camp from the field, The Archers have also made it back with no casualties
men come to you to give reports:
-Only Light Skirmishes in the field, Most men did not even see combat, minimal casualties.
-There where two attempted crossings during the maneuver, One upstream and one downstream.
-The Downstream crossing was completely repelled, The Crossers got caught Mid crossing and a third of their men where slaughtered on the shore.
-The Upstream crossing was not repelled, But they where not able to drag their equipment across the river before being engaged, They numbered 15 or so men all mounted, light Calvary, they outnumbered the patrol that found them 4 to 1, and where forced to retreat. By the time a reactionary force responded they had fled into the fields, but their equipment was still sitting in the river, It was seized. Patrols have been alerted of the potential of enemies in the flank but none have been spotted as of yet.
"Turncoats, scum of the realm." Garett spits and shakes his head.
"Amberwood Company will honor it's word as long as the contract is honored, you can be sure of that Milord." Garett orders his men to get a bit of rest and tells a Squad Leader that he wants the patrols upstream bolstered in case the ones that broke through attempt to flank while they hold back another crossing.
"So my lord, what is the plan now? Hold our ground and bleed them at the river?" Garett glances at Ser Lillam.
"Should we expect anymore turncoats?"
The Duke who is still around to listen to the question shakes his head.
"Ser Cole was the only one who's loyalty was in question, The Cole's have royal blood, and he always resented getting what he saw as a fief fit for a man of lesser blood. Young, Royal, and poor is a volatile mix."
The Duke shakes his head.
"Anyhow, Hawke, I plan on attempting to storm Ser Cole's fort on the morrow, I'm gathering up my men and marshaling many of the refugees, I wish to hit it before dawn break, I'm hoping to catch Ser Cole before he leaves to join the main force, so the quicker the better, I was hoping that you would ride with me?"
"I want to maintain a strong patrol along the river so I must keep the majority of my men here, but I will bring anyone I can spare my lord. We cannot have the Kehgandy dogs stealing a march on us after all." Garett scratches at his chin.
"Will any of the other commanders be joining us?"
The Duke nods understandingly.
"I understand Ser I did not plan on asking anyone else. You have a good head on your shoulders, I like the Norlander but he seems a poor choice for a siege, hardly have the time to build catapults and rams, So we'll be storming the walls with ladders. Not much use for an archer.
Oh and another thing, I remember you mentioning who lead this army and no one was sure, Well I have my suspicions now, I will need to speak with your wizard but I'll get to you with everything I know as soon as I know, Now...
The Duke pauses as he looks over at a man, He's not a member of the camp, Bald and looks to be of advanced age.
"What in the hell? I got to see what this is about, Get a good nights rest, we have an early morning."
The Duke strolls off in the direction of the old man, Walking with him into his Tent.
You are quickly approached by more men giving more reports, equipment requests, requests for the transfer of horses, A checklist of the equipment pulled from the river, Casualty reports, disciplinary reports. This is common when you come back into camp as paper work trickles into a drop box staked in front of your tent through the night.
It starts to get dark and the camp activity winds down, the night is fairly uneventful besides a little bit of commotion when the Wizard returns, Bringing news that he was unable to capture the other Wizard.
Do you do anything specific before putting down for the night?
Garett watches with a bit of curiosity as the Duke departs with the old man. He makes sure Dauntless is well taken care where the horses are kept personally, waving off the stablehands or other helpers. He strokes the Destrier's mane in deep thought over the events of the day before the horse bumps his head against his own.
"Perhaps you are right Dauntless. Worrying over every mistake will leave me graying like the Marshal. Be good to the stablehands." With that, Garett cleans off his lance and leaves it with Dauntless before retiring to his tent to clean his equipment and read the reports that came in before retiring for the night.
Update:
The Enemy army remains in the hills, The raiding parties continue to make pushes into the valley. A small raiding party is confirmed to have slipped past the river. The enemy have seized a small hill fort
Reports:
There have been several skirmishes west of the river with other scout and raiders, Minimal casualties on both sides. Several fires and small village raids where attempted east of the river, but the raiders where chased away by local militia and have avoided contact with man hunting squads. Several scouts report mounted men going to the captured fort and then leaving, when a few squads formed a raid group and assaulted the mounted escort they where rebuffed by one of the men who appears to have been magical, potentially a war wizard.
7 men including a commander from the group of 12 are reported KIA.
Camp Status: No Major changes, Several refugees put themselves forward to join the company and the worthy ones are being trained
Duties:
- One of your soldiers is getting an accommodation for a vital role in repelling the downstream crossing, He has refused the monetary reward and has instead requested a Mithril Chain shirt that's in the armory. The Quartermaster requires your approval.
-The Quartermaster sends a note that the loot seized has been valued and that your Commission is 570 gold or your pick of loot equal in value. The loot mostly consists of standard armor and arms, but there was a crate of potions of cute moderate wounds looted too. More than your cut would cover.
-Several stable hands and horse ranchers have been recruited for training, several of them are being fitted for the light Calvary, You receive a list of them and simply need to sign off that you've seen the list and return it to the Quartermaster. You're not required to train the recruits, there are people for that. You can oversee the training if you wish.
****************
You arise in the early morning, it's still dark but activity is already starting, People are staring cook fires, you can hear people training, and laughing, arguing, the general clatter you always hear around the camp.
There is an area that has been turned into a training ground just outside the camp near the Quartermaster's tent, several recruits are training with weapons, others are walking their horses around a makeshift obstacle course.
A gathering of men are gathering near the bridge, Some of them are armored and bare the sigils of knights, while many of them on foot look like peasants who where given axes and chain shirts. You also see a stack of ladders being lashed to a cart. You recognize Ser Lilliam among the knights, but the Duke is not among them
Garett flicks through the reports with interest. He declines the man's request for the expensive armor, instead putting the man in line for a promotion with an addendum that if he performs well again then the armor will go to him.
He sends a note to the Quartermaster requesting a quarter of the potions be distributed to the elites storming the fort in the morning.
Finally, Hawke suggests the new recruits see an engagement as infantry before being fully equipped as light cavalry.
I can't have greenhorns pulling back in the midst of a charge or shying away from engaging enemy patrols. I would be a dead man if my first battle was on horseback.
In the morning, Garett suits up quickly, eats a light fare, and joins the men at the bridge with Dauntless.
"Hail Ser Lilliam, will the Duke be joining us or did the late news take him elsewhere?"
The Quatermaster is infamously prickly and will almost certainly find some reason to rage over your requests, But you would never get anything done if you worried about not ruffling that man's feathers.
Ser Lilliam greets you.
"Right Ser, The Duke's Wife, Advisor, Some of his Knights and Barons petitioned him to remove himself from the field and return home, He compromised to stay off the front lines but remain at camp, He also wished to have command over the siege moved over to you. He is... Staying in his tent right now."
"A shame that, but the Duke has a great deal to offer to the campaign. Losing him to a stray arrow would be devastating." Garett shrugs the news off.
"Shall we go show Ser Cole what happens to traitors?"
Lilliam shrugs
"He's a great war leader no one can deny that, but the lords have spoken, Hopefully he takes this time and spends it with that new wife of his."
Lilliam rides around commanding everyone to get at the ready.
"Everyone, this is Commander Hawke, he is the one our Lord put in command here, he's a Veteran of many wars and speaks with the authority of our lord."
They are all yours, The Knights and Garrison men will obey your commands without issue, the Militia men can be harder to command under pressure, Most of them where conscripted from refugees and have not seen battle, I'm your second Commander and ready for your orders.
There is a gathering of men, Including Lilliam there are 6 knights and about 20 men armored and armed who must be the Garrison men, they all have swords and crossbows, And about 30 men who look like the militia, They have been given clothes that bare the Duke's colors but they are not armored and wield a mixture of wood axes and short swords. There is also a cart with 10 tall wooden ladders stacked up onto of one another.
"Double time men, we must storm the fort and dispose of it before the Kehgandy catch wind of it. If we dally too long, we'll be up to our necks in them." Garett pulls himself atop his mount. He gazes at the gathered men.
"Knights, divide up the garrison men and militia amongst you. I'll be leading the vanguard personally. Once we establish a breach, the fight will be on our side. We will accept their surrender...with the exception of Ser Cole. He'll be put down like the traitorous dog he is. He allies himself with scum that scorches the fields of good folk. If we can take him alive to serve as an example, excellent. If not..." Captain Hawke narrows his eyes without mercy. "Should a blade find his heart before then, that would be nothing more than an unfortunate accident."
There is a light mumble come from the handful of armored men, but they mount up and gather their men, since most of them are not mounted, They trot along the field with a train of men behind them, Keeping pace with the cart full of ladders, You pass by several groups of men digging ditches on the other side of the river and bridge, and putting stakes in the ground, They give you a wave as you pass, greeting you as a Commander and wishing you safety. As you journey further out you enter the fields where battle took place, there is a faint foul scent on the air, it does not take long for bodies to start to decay in the open like this.
You can see several black specs in the field as you head towards the fort, when you get closer you can see them, they are rider less horses, All black easily two dozen Mares, Stallion, and Fouls, and they seem to be just grazing in the fields.
Garett stares at the herd of horses with a faraway look as he fondly recalls his youth of trying to break wild horses in. More often than not, he came home with scrapes and bruises, but a couple of times he succeeded. He blinks hard for a moment and dismounts Dauntless.
"Tell them to go across the river. Don't want em getting killed for horsemeat or taken by the Kehgandy." Garett whispers into Dauntless' ear and pats his mane.
He then walks alongside his men until Dauntless returns.
Dauntless nods slowly at his master's words. He turns and gallops across the field before slowing before the herd. He scans for the largest Stallion in the herd before whinnying loudly.
"Flee to the river cousins! Bad two legs burn fields, kill each other here soon."
You hear muttering from the Refugees as dauntless gallops across the field. As he gets closer to the other horses he begins to slow down, His animal intuition making him feel uneasy about these horses. He gets closer and a few of the horses who's head are down in the tall grass lift them up.
Instead of grass though their snouts are covered in blackish red blood, Dauntless able to make out what appears to be a mash of red paste and bits of armor and bone just under the grassline, His "words" are ignored, as the horses let out an aggressive ninny, To a regular person that would sound like any regular horse, but to Dauntless who is gifted in Horsespeak, It's a completely incomprehensible language. The ones who were feasting, who also appear to be the Alpha's stamp their hoofs at Dauntless
They have taken part of man flesh! They are lost!
Dauntless grieves for his kin and flees back to Garett to warn him of the potential danger.
The Monstrous horses seem content to stamp their hoofs and return to eating the bodies, The Refugees seem to be concerned with the scene, many of them praying, some chanting loudly in another language.
"They think the Devil Horses are Bad Omen's, Something about them being the steed of death, Katari superstition."
Said Lilliam. shrugging and then spurring his horse back into motion. And shouting orders at his men to get them moving again.
Some of the Refugees seem reluctant to move though, Though when one of the other knights gives one his boot they return to marching.
Garett is concerned about the horses, but allows the feeling to pass him by.
"I don't know about superstitions, but they are certainly unnerving. I don't blame them. Just another reason to pay the Kehgandy back in kind." Garett nonchalantly raises his voice at the end, more for the refugee's sake than any others.
He remounts Dauntless and continues forth.
You get the men back into formation and continue towards the fort, there are small signs of battle, and as you get closer to the fort the burning smell on the breeze grows stronger, And before long you can see the scorched fields from yesterdays battle, Though the sigh is ominous is does have the benefit of making it easy to spot people among the black landscape and the area looks to be clear of scouts and other enemy movement. When you come up to the hill fort you can see people on the battlements.
You and your troops are currently out of arrow range from the fort, The Fort is otherwise silent though it's hard to image they didn't spot your retinue approaching from the forts vantage point.
"Double time men, shields up!" Hawke leads his men from the front line, keeping time and leading their pace.
As you approach the fort with your men, arrows start to fly from the garrison. They fly into the dirt in front of your men as they are too far away, The Knights who each command their own men spread out, Approaching the fort from different angles.
Once you get into range of the bows you hear the clattering of arrows upon shields, With your talent you and your men are well protected. The Peasants with ladders also follow closely with you, huddling closely behind the men with shields balancing their ladders in the air.