• PM To Join • [Northern Hotlands] Someplace Safe to Bury our Bones

[Lorogh]

The prior few days had proceeded, and despite their initial resistance against the bone men of the Bone Yard, the Northern Reaches Fortress had been nearly overrun. And now, the civilians and soldiers holed up in the highest bastion off the Fortress, only sallying out through the bridges that remained to harass the mindless undead. It should've been an easy job, but the proximity to the Bone Yard meant that the Northern Reaches bore the brunt of the offensive of the Bone Yard's irate forces. Lorogh's commander, a Captain who was presiding over the defense of the fort, was running an operation in the field, trying to cut off the influx of skeletons and create a bottleneck where by it would be easier to defend against them. Since the gate had fallen, this'd proven a more difficult task.

Lorogh was left with the rest, and his squad, and a group of civilians. Some entertainers were among them, a traveling troupe or some such that were good for raising the spirits. Lorogh imagined they were eager to get out there, but the safest place here in the lower Reaches of the Hotlands region of the Empire was far to the north, at the old Imperial Border Fortress. Many miles away from the Northern Reaches Fortress. They couldn't reasonably travel.

"Captain has been gone a long time..." Lorogh whispered to Chelsea, the ranking stalwart in his squad. "I think we must need sally out and find him."

"Don't be silly." Chelsea retorted, "You were given orders to watch over these people. I'm sure Captain has things well in hand."

Lorogh hrmed and hawed at that. But he stood down. Still the call was his. He could put Chelsea in charge of the defense. It'd be a good test of her mettle and also a chance to develop some real leadership skills. But now he had a civilian population to try and inform, assuage and calm down. "We're quite safe from the bone men here!" Lorogh said, uncertainly.

Trials ago, he'd sent for his mentor, Victor Amielle who'd been as close as the Hotlands Border Region, to the north. He'd sent birds, the last of them to try and get him to relieve their position. Of course he warned him that a horde of bone men were attacking, and would likely give him trouble along the way, but that if he reached the Northern Reaches Fortress, Lorogh and his fellow soldiers would surely join the fray to liberate the fortress.

He only hoped that the message had reached him, and further that he would come to help.

"I've sent for reinforcements." Lorogh stated, to the civilians. "I'm sure they'll arrive any day now."

A loud crash sounded from the south, where the gate and walls were stood. Lorogh drew his artillery sword out of instinct, while Heft, Sap, and Chelsea followed suit with their weapons.

The rest of their squad busied themselves at readying the defenses they'd erected to keep the entrance to the Northern Reach Fortress intact.

"We'll be alright, quite alright!" Lorogh narrowed his eyes,as he felt that familiar connection, through his spark. He felt he could sense his master. "If any of you would wish to join in the defnese, I'll not stop you, but I won't press gang civilians into service. It's not the Imperial way!" Lorogh said to the civilians and the thespians that were among them. Then he approached the entrance, taking a peak beyond the threshold...

[Thaldan]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

DATE

They had wanted to try something different this Cylus and had gone south into the Hotlands. It was an area the troop hadn’t been to and had decided to give it a try. They enjoyed the work but there was a wanderlust to be found in the group it was part of why they did what they did. Also the love of the performance as well. None of the Akrobaticshe Troupe could understand someone who spent hours honing a skill but never shared it.

Well that wanderlust had got them here in the Northern Reach Fortress. Unfortunately they had become trapped before they could escape, it was a danger in there work. So while the wagons were loaded there wasn’t anything else they could do. Thaldan stood with the crowd of civilians who were in the fortress at the times as the time. The soldiers were rushing around the gates where action was apparently taking place. He stood with his two closest friends Handel, his childhood friend who had joined the troup later, and Tobias, the youngest son, who had chosen to join the troupe lead by his father.

It was at that time that the heard the crash indicating that the bone men had come to the gates of the fortress. The three young men looked at each other. “Well it sounds like the fighting is getting closer.” Thaldan said to his friends. The two of them nodded their heads. It was also at that time they heard a call of reassurance and a request for help from a otter. They had been there long enough to see the legionnaire and so were surprised any more. His call did caused the young men to look at each other.

“I think Tobias is the only one skilled with a blade.” Handal said.

“I am not going to stay here cowering though.” Thaldan told his two friends. Which was very true. He wasn’t skilled in fighting but he could offer help. He was young and strong and had some basic training with a blade. He also knew that if he didn’t he would live with the shame of hiding for the rest of his life.

“I agree.” Tobias said.

“Well I left home cause it was boaring.” Handal said with a week smile.

So it was that the three young men came forward with others including all of the other men in the troupe, to volunteer to help. Thaldan presented himself to the otter. “If I am going to die I would rather do it fighting. Tell me where to help.” He was smiling and putting on a brave face, because at that moment while the statement was true he was also scared, and if he smiled and sounded brave it might help.

[Victor Amielle]

Victor had left Korlasir a while ago in order to travel to the border region and conduct a bit of research there. The area was not exactly safe, but he tried to stay close to other travelers whenever he could, and besides, he was confident that he’d be able to deal with most dangers if it came down to it. He’d fought the Magma Beast, and he’d survived the mage prison of Melrath. In his opinion, the benefits of his trip outweighed the risks, by far.

Rumors that something was happening in the Boneyard reached him long before his initiate’s message did. The skeletons had risen and attacked nomads as well as travelers, they said. The Imperial Army was said to offer a bounty for every skeleton that was destroyed. Victor had to admit that the offer intrigued him, even though he didn’t really need the money.

It had just been a while since he’d been able to use his sword and his magic.

He was just debating whether he should move closer to the Boneyard rather than away from as some people had told him to it when Lorogh’s message arrived. He decided at once that he would head to the Northern Reaches Fortress and help – and that he would do so right away.

So, without further ado, he activated his Stone Horse, climbed into the saddle, lightly pulled on the reins and proceeded to squeeze it with its legs to cue it to go forward. A moment later, when the horse was moving, he alerted his falcon familiar Shaye that Delroth had granted him and asked her to scout ahead so that he could avoid the skeletons.

He had to admit that he was very tempted to already destroy a few skeletons on the way to the fortress, but Lorogh’s message had sounded as if time might be of the essence, and destroying skeletons might cause unnecessary and possibly risky delays. He would likely be able to destroy more than enough skeletons once he had finally arrived at the fortress.

Fortunately, his Stone Horse didn’t need to take breaks, and it didn’t need to eat or drink, so it wasn’t too long before his destination came into view. He didn’t stop to look at the fortress, but swiftly rode up to the entrance and only stopped a couple of metres in front of the entrance.

Lorogh had probably already felt his presence by now, but for the sake of the rest of the soldiers, the mage that was wearing black leathers and a beautiful green coat called out, “Victor Amielle. Lorogh sent for me. I’ve come to help defend the fortress with my magic. Let me in, please!”

As he waited, he briefly turned his head and watched and listened in order to make sure that no skeletons had decided to take the opportunity and try to sneak up on him – he thought that he could hear something to the south - and then he focused on the entrance again.

He would ride through it as soon as someone opened it.

[Lorogh]

VIctor would find the way through the fortress (the front portcullis of which had already been taken apart by either the defenders or else the skeletons), wrought with the danger of attack by skeletons, who attacked all the living with equal fervor. Yet his stone-horse didn't balk at the sight of these creatures, and rode on through, tramping a few into the bargain as he would make his way up to the ramps and access that led to the inner fortress, at the top of the rear cliffs. They were isolated, and protected by that distance in large part, but Lorogh knew it was only a matter of time before the skeletons learned to navigate ramps, or else to climb the sheer cliff face.

He felt his mentor's presence before he heard him, but by the time his voice reached the other side of the wooden gate, he was already preparing to open it, to sally out and meet the threat of skeletons. He shouted to the other side of the gate, as Victor arrived there. "Good gracious, am I glad to see you! We're going to sally out." He said, opening the bar to the gate, and letting the doors swing inward, letting Victor inside.

Once his mentor was inside, Loroogh propped the bar up only slightly to the door, so that it could be easily removed once they were ready to make way to where they had to go.

"Now, the fortress has one last ditch defense that is designed to wipe out those who breach the outer wall." Lorogh said, dusting off a map on the wall that contained a overhead view of the fortress. He cast a mote of brilliance to illuminate it for all those present. "We'll need to split up to properly activate it. It's a boulder trap, that crushes anything and everything in the courtyard. It's supposed to be a last ditch defense should the fortress fall, but I think the Empress will forgive us for using it this way, in this instance."

Lorogh's voice went grim as he addressed both Victor, and Thaldan, and the rest of his squad, who were gathered there. Heft looked very eager to get out and crush some skulls, Chelsea too, and Sapper's face was as inscrutable as ever. Lorogh presumed he was ready to do his part too. "Alright, we'll have to split into two parties, at least for the first part, before we reunite in a pincer movement, once the trap has been released and crushed the majority of skeletons..." Lorogh pointed to Chelsea, and Heft. "You two will accompany our civilian conscripts, the storyteller Thaldan and his companions." Lorogh thought it best to protect the civilians, with his two most gifted combatants.

Then he pointed at Sapper, "You know the master switch better than any of these others, having set it up on the most recent watch, so you'll come with me and Victor." There was also the concern that the private was the least experienced in hand to hand combat, and so Lorogh sought to have him nearby, both to evaluate his performance in this siege, as well as see that he was taken care of.

"Are there any questions?"

There likely might be a few, and Lorogh would let them ask before they went off to sally out and spring the trap. However time was of the essence, and Lorogh had no wish to delay and so would let Chelsea answer any questions from the civs, while Lorogh would answer any that Victor had. Hopefully they were on the same page!

So Lorogh and company threw open the gate with a toss of the barricade. And they were off. Lorogh toward the western flank of the Fortress, and Thaldan and the squad warriors toward the east.

Chelsea and Heft kept close enough to Thaldan to shore up his defenses, but not so close as to get in the way or encumber his efforts to contribute to their defense as they made their way through sparse throngs of skeletons. Chelsea pointed the way for Thaldan and his companions. "That way, we can access the secondary switch from the upper ramps, along the eastern wall."

Lorogh for his part wielded his heavy sword with gusto, swinging it somewhat clumsily, but accurate enough to take the legs out of any skeletons that threatened him, Sapper, or his mentor. Like he would a tool, really. His other hand gripped a shield, which deflected several club-blows from a nearby skeleton, before Lorogh shifted slightly to angle the shield's protection upward from blows coming down and sent a glancing cut at the same skeleton's leg. This disrupted its balance, and in fact deactivated the skeleton.

By all accounts the skeletons were weak, but their main advantage was the sheer number of them. They couldn't go several meters without finding themselves surrounded by the creatures, at least on Lorogh's side. "I don't suppose you have any tricks to pull, Victor? The western wall was carved directly from the sandstone of a mountain, so maybe... It's a monolithic structure, if you take my meaning."