Kandros Fir retaliates. (and Tasunke's success continues)
Kandros's army moved forward, inspired by the fate of Kadar, they were furious. A scout had finally survived long enough to make it to the city and back, in order to report what had happend. Strangely, the same scout had gone missing the next day, although the army was already wrapped up in Ale-driven Dwarven fury. They stormed down the mountain roads, out of the grand gates of Hallowell. They stormed past Kadar, they wouldnt make time for any couriers, or any scouts, or any sentries, they were out fer blood. and gold. DWARVEN gold, and DWARVEN mithril. in their haste they did not realize that they marched directly lateral to Tasunke's army, leaving the large contingent of horseriders nearly unopposed to take the large city of Rockhomme. Acturus realized this after the Kandros war party is already well on its way ... but Kandros's men are already in a fury ... a fury that seeths over time in the long march to the front lines. They do not know that the main forward hippus army is living off the land surrounding Rockhomme, or that Rockhomme is set to fall quite shortly, or even the size of the hippus forces. They just know that by Dwarven Honor they are going to sieze the hippus fortress of Aleith-Stalbard, just north of the Mithril vein.
They arrive outside of Aleith-Stalbard, having not encountered any enemy resistance. Assuming the hippus must have all returned from their raiding, they also assume the forward party is inside. On their way ... they captured several mining encampments, finding them all but empty. The sentries that had been posted to guard the mines, dissapeared as dark shapes, barely visible to the Khazad war party.
As the mighty dwarven army reaches the Hippi fortress, they heard the battle horns from inside the city, and a nearby encampment came alive with rustling and yelling. The field guardsmen took to their horses, and charged to meet the enemy. The Khazad loosed their mighty trebuchets, and the hippus split into loose formation, but still lost 5% of their riders.
Those riders the dwarves didnt see were those that had them already outflanked. Surprise let them disable a good half of the trebuchets before the Hornguard chased them off. The first wave of riders, in tight charge formation, met the Dwarven defenders. parts of the line crubled in chaos and terror, but in the center, where the more veteran of the dwarven warriors stood, they were able to coordinate shield and spear in order to repell the charge. Some horses were skewered and fell upon their rider, others planted hoof onto the shields and leaped off, landing amongst the Dwarven rank. It was here that the spiked horse armor paid off. Most however, seeing their comrades locked in bitter struggle, peeled off from the charge, in order to pepper the flank. The Dwarves then charged most of their army straight for the gate, keeping a loose and slightly chaotic battle line. Hippi archers lined the walls, peppering the incoming assault with hook arrows, dagger arrows, razor arrows, and wind arrows. hook arrows were meant for the Khazad mounted division, designed to lodge into the muscular legs of the giant Boars. Razor arrows were vs light infantry, doing much the same for human flesh and armor, lodging into the armor, while contantly rubbing against the flesh. dagger arrows were hit or miss, riding swifter on the wind than most other arrows (except wind arrows), are for vs heavy infantry mainly. Mainly hit or miss, will not pass through most of the armor, but its not meant for that. Dwarven heavy infantry are extremely hardy, and generally shrug off most wounds. This is why the arrows are designed to do the most damage to those places were the armor does not cover. mainly parts of the neck, and other places where the arteries are exposed. Wind arrows are a hippus specialty, and they are meant to catch a wind current and fly over most of the whole army, hitting the poor and unsuspecting chaps in the back of the entire army. As the rear guard sips tea, or looks out for hippus flankers, the wind arrow will catch them square in the jaw, or chest, or in the fore 'ead. To be able to fire a wind arrow requires much skill, especially due to the fact that not all enemy armies are the same size. Very few have the skill to fly a wind arrow, although every hippus garrison has at least a couple. Over half of the wind-arrow users solely fight on horseback, and Tasunke's army has quite a few, although every wind arrowman also has a composite bow, as well as the weapon specific for their unit. Hippus assasins now make their move, having side-stepped the enemy from the trees, were able to infiltrate the battle-line. they were dressed as Dwarves, and know the dance of the wind of battle, which allows them to move along the lines of marching men, while avoiding most of the arrow fire their comrades above are sending. They push through the ranks, and when they find a centurion or a flag bearer, they push a hidden blade into their neck, and carry on their way, making as if it was an arrow that hit them. Sometimes they get caught, but most times not.
Still, the majority of the dwarves made it to the fortress gate, right as the remaining trebuchets loosed the last of their ammunition, finally getting the shot that splintered the gate and crumbled the wall around it. They charged in to find a horde of sword wielding militia charging them, seemingly foaming at the mouths. Ignoring this ill-boding sign, Kandros ordered his men to slay the rabble, a bitter mistake he may in time realize. The hippi archers went to the back of the city and seemingly dissapeared, while the Hornsguard rode after the horsemen, who had decided to retreat, seeing the gates fallen. The Hornsguard never returned.
Over half of Kandros' remaining forces were inside the city by the time the fortress was cleaned off all remaining rabble. He strode the fortress roads feeling pride for his men, and contempt for the hippus. No sooner had his men start to cheer, did he also hear the moaning, and the coughing. He called for his Chief Liutenant, a Stonewarden that also enjoyed hefting the axe and shield. He examined one of the affected soldiers, and the Stone warden replied he detected various poisons and diseases coursing through the lad's blood. Suddenly a shadow befell on Kandros's face. Suddenly he realized what was going on. This was a setup. He drastically screamed to raise shields! Rase your Shields men! this battle en't over yet! But it was too late. Most of the men affected were too distracted by their own condition, and for the ones that did, there were still hippi assasins to contend with, who were now not trying to conceal themselves, and with proper training from Mal' they were finding great pleasure in their increased skills. However, the hippus had trained for this day, and knew the exact moment to hide behind bodies, and to decrease their surface area, in order to avoid what was befalling the entire Khazad army.
Acid arrows were fired straight up into the air, so thick as to cover the sky. Almost every inch of ground, soldier, or shield was covered. Those with shields usually survived ... although sometimes the acid would eat into their eye or mouth, and they would die from the inside out. The hippus then hugged the walls, knowing their job was done, and scared-mad wanting to avoid what was coming next. After a full flurry of acid arrows and toxic arrows, the shadow steps materialized, and went into a blood frenzy, running the war-band through with the swords of fate, comrades being bathed in the blood of their fellow-men, until they too were hacked apart. Kandros was able to, together with his liutenant, command a band of champions to fight at this mysterious attackers ... although fighting them was like trying to stab your own shadow. Still, they made ground, and were able to escape the city. Luckily a third of his army was still safe outside of the city walls, and had already started a retreat. He was yelling for his army to pick up triple pace, and to leave the trebuchets.
"they are just a pile of wood and stone! Hells angels are upon us ... LEAVE ... NOWWW!!!! I dont know what in all o' Mazera is going on here, but its NOT SAFE!"
his remaining forces obeyed him, and started fleeing in earnest. A scout, however, spotted the hornguard returning. The Stonewarden would not allow these men to be left behind, to Kandros' dismay, so their force was split even further,with a full third of the remaining army waiting for the Horngaurd.
These were no Hornguard however. They had died, and yet were somehow reanimated. Undead Rhinoceri, carrying skelletons with hooded robes, were all that remained of the Hornguard. However they had a glamor cast upon them, so no sooner had they arrived than they slew the unsuspecting Khazadi without mercy. And to finish it off, a giant fireball seemed to appear out of nowhere, and slammed right into the heart of the surviving Khazad. One of the trebuchets was used to launch the Burnt Head of the stonewarden straight to Kandros. Kandros fell down in grief as soon as he saw the remnants of his friend's skull, but continued onwards, determined to guard the mines of mithril from this unforseen force. He also sent a hawk to warn his kinsmen of the incoming danger.
A khazadi army takes quite a while to march. During this time Tasunke was very busy. Mal' had insisted on two things. One, was to return to the hippi lands to guard the mithril mines, and another, was to let the Crazed Dwarven army of Kandros to pass by, unopposed. Tasunke did not feel to well about using this strategy, although Mal' gave him little choice. Still, he was in command of a few of the elite Shadow agents, which although unsettling was a nice bonus to the army. Rockhomme had been undersiege for several days now, and Tasunke was growing impatient. In his impatience, he set off to a nearby city of Glulynn, this city was rich in minerals, a very economic city. He took his champion riders to the city, raided the granaries, set flame to the stokades, and ran off, leaving an angry garrison. All they had was but to wait on the otherside of a low hill, in a nearby field, and charge once they saw the enemy. Not charge AT them mind you, but AROUND them. His champions could read the disposition of an enemy soldier, and would encircle the enemy until they found a weakpoint. Then they would charge into the weakpoint, stir as much slaughter and confusion as possible, and then withdraw. Eventually the remaining army surrendered, and Tasunke had the commander decapitated. He then set one of his new recruits into champion-hood as a vice-governor of the settlement. He sent some of his assasins, executioners, and barb-arrow horse-archers to help him govern the city, once he got back to the seige.
An attempt was made upon the Vice-Governor's life, so Alexander ordered half of the town to be put to the sword. after this, the streets had a very strict curfew. Although while able to farm, one citizen was able to send a destress call to the heart of the empire, Khazak. Tasunke's shadow agent made note of this, and reported back to HQ. Tasunke decided now was the time to take Rockhomme. He ordered the grapplers to strike at nightfall.
Once the gates were open, Tasunke led the heavy riders through the gates, directly into the heart of the city. The horse armor was good at deflecting all kinds of arrows, and man and beast alike were trained to ignore any arrow that happend to make its way through. The charging army was about to meet the Dwarven shield guard in the streets of the city, but these hippus were smarter. these were true Aroul-hippi, from Tasunke's homeland. Not 20 paces from the Khazadi shields, the hippus split into, riding right along side the edge of the street, using a longsword to slash those along the side. Once those in the front of the charge heard the first true screams of battle/death, they quickly turn 90% and charge right into the opponents flank. The battle/screams are the signal that they have completely surrounded the enemy, and the rear of the charge has commenced battle. Most Khazad do not know which direction to turn to, and usually their ranks are able to be broken apart freely enough so that the horsemen can ride through the now open rank and file, hacking the enemy far more easily. While all this was happening, it was the grapplers job to finish off the archers holding the city. This time they had slain the last arrow right as the hippus were able to break the rank and file. Khazadi centurions were starting to rally the rest of the garrison in the city square. This combined defense was a hippi signal to break the charge, so those far behind enemy lines slashed their way back to the front, and rode out of the city. This was the time for the true Horsearchers. They would trot inside the city gates, and fire volley after volley as the khazad had the option of sitting there waiting for a charge from the hippus, or to make a final stand, and themselves charge outwards. it took only three volleys for the Khazad to decide to go ahead and Sally forth. With no archers and slingers, they had little choice. The horse archers made for a retreat formation, and acted as if they were trapped. sensing immediate quarry, once the Bezerkers, Champions, and Axe ranks got close they dropped their defensive march and ran ahead with their weapons held high.
Immediately the Horsearchers dropped the act, and let loose their most deadly volley yet, a complete attention volley, standing up, backwards, in their mounts, as the mounts did their job to carry them outside into safety. As the Khazad began to pour out of the city, the smarter ones held back. Those that did run outside were cut-down by the Aroul-hippus, once again led by tasunke. Then the commander of the Hippi Urak-clan wanted to test his windriders, and so asked permission to take care of the remaining defenders themselves. They went in and wrapped up this mess. Then the Shadows made sure to slay every last commander, every last government official, and any member of Khazad government that happened to remain in the city. Rockhomme was sent into anarchy. The hippus decided to remain outside the city walls for a day or two .. while the shadows killed anyone that started to rally his fellow dwarves, ensuring that the city was lost to pure anarchy. Any dwarf that had the urge to act very un-Dwarven was loosed upon the rest of the citizens, and there was zero authority, except for the mysterious shadowy killers. After several days of this, vice general Gregorian was placed in command of the city, bringing order to a people lost in darkness. It was then that the Shadows enforced pure order and law in the city, and Gregorian was welcomed by the public as a hero.
The next day the Hippus Captain Unthra was found dead. He was the leader of the Urak-clan hippus. Tasunke sent them back to their homeland, in order to bury their leader. Meanwhile, back in the hippi homeland, Governor Ontales was killed, in a nearby mega city near Aletheriol ta Malathiel where Rhoanna set up her administrative HQ. She now visits the city of Rodannor to find a new Governor, and ends up appointing the garnder, for he showed merit in guarding a young hippus boy from the unforseen attack. Rhoanna has officially taken the boy under her wing, hoping to teach him everything she knows as a warrior, and an administrator. She sent a hawk to warn Tasunke of the assasins, and included her fear that it may be linked to the Esus agents. Mysteriously the hawk never made it, although Mal' did notify Tasunke of the assasinations, and told him that he was left but no choice to assume Esus had nothing to do with it. He did however promise to send some agents to look into it.
Around this time The army sent by Arcturus was nearing Glulynn, so Tasunke ordered those not accompaning Gregorian with the holdings of Rockhomme to come with him. The battle went well, although without the expertise of the Urak-clan, they had to rely more on the Aroul hippus. therefore at the end of the battle, the warriors of the Aroul were exausted, and would have to rest in Glulynn for a couple of days. The remaining hippi army needed a new leading champion to rally behind tasunke's direct orders, or else they would have to give up the city, or risk losing valuable men and warhorses.
Suddenly Tasunke recieved a hawk message from Rockhomme. Apprantly a "Captain Mynan" had arrived with reinforcements, instructed to follow Gregorian and by extension, Tasunke. The message briefly mentioned exploits expanding the wild-front of hippi lands by fighting off goblins, and several mentions of Valor, including guarding Rhoanna against a massive Diranth attack. Tasunke was curious to learn more of these exploits, but right now he needed a leader for the rest of his crew. His place would be beside his elite Aroul units, hardened veterans that had rode for years, whose families lived in the best grazing grounds of all the Hippi.
// While returning home, the Urak-clan intercepted a Shadow agent coming from the Fortress Aleith-Stalbard. He was able to point them in the direction of the retreating Khazadi army, led, still, by Kandros Fir. a small company of Captain Unthra's closest relatives led off to their homeland of Radonnor, while Unthra's second in command led the rest of the unit, along with several Shadow agents, to intercept the retreating army. They met the Khazad army in the field, yet with superior organization and leadership, the Khazad army was able to form a proper turtle formation, to buy enough time for them to escape to the hills. three companies of axemen however, were cut off-from the rest by the Urak's ... and the Shadow agent was able to glean key plans in the Khazad war-strategy through extensive .... information gathering techniques. An assasin meanwhile left to attempt the kidnapping of Kandros Fir, however he has not yet returned. Urak-clan then returned to the gold mine, re-asses Hippus control of the region, and then headed back to Radonnor.
Meanwhile, Arcturus's army, lead by Maros, was regrouping in the mountains above Glulynn. Captain Mynan then arrived, first from Radonnor and then from Rockhomme, to meet With Tasunke and Alexander at Glulynn. He had a large contingent of horse Archers from the Aletheriol ta Malathiel barracks, as well as the defensive Unit, the Knights of Radonnor. It was decided that Captain Mynan would garrison the city of Glulynn with Governor Alexander, with his Knights of Radonnor, while Tasunke would camp within sight and earshot of the city walls, with the massive horsearcher contingent. This camp would be guarded at Nightfall by esus agents led by Mal' himself. As well as having the Dendrinni hippus squad take turns for some hippus nightwatch as well.