B
Belomar
Guest
[Note: The second part (out of four) of my chronicle of this Friday's events. Yes, I am going to collect all these in a nice little document for your perusal (if you are interested).]
With the taking of Dun Crauchon fresh in our minds, our small but powerful army immediately started planning our next move. Instead of resting on our laurels and staying to defend the mighty Crauchon, we reformed our ranks into two full groups. Moving independently but with the kind of precise coordination that would bring a tear to the eye of any old warhorse, we marched to the Albion Mile Gate and then south through the lush valley leading to Briefine. The keep of Dun Crimthainn, key to the interior of the Hibernian frontier, loomed large in our collective minds.
Even as the two groups arrived just shy of the foot of the hill to the west of the keep, we sighted enemy defenders moving on its war-scarred battlements, and knew that this siege would be a formidable task. Dun Crimthainn, its approaches blood-drenched from the massive battles fought daily on its slopes, looked dark and brooding in the rapidly approaching dusk. Many Albion assault forces had been obliterated in their attempts to take the huge fortress.
Unfaced but surely sobered by the keep's grim history, the attackers formed up for battle, the last rays of the sun glinting across burnished shields and razor-sharp blades in our front ranks. Your chronicler, singled out for my lightness of foot and the hastening rhythms of my drum, sped up to the gates of the keep, provoking the Hibernian men-at-arms to pursue. Running back towards my comrades patiently waiting at the foot of the hill, I desperately dodged the arrows flying after me and the hounding screams of the Hibernian guards following me. However, I was soon able to dive through the front lines of our siege force, and, hearing the satisfying metallic clang of shields locking together behind me, was able to turn around and draw my own trusted axe to engage the enemy.
The guard threat gone, we were able to move up to the mighty gates of the keep and within the range of the enemy archers. Fortunately, however, the pulsing chants of the theurgists accompanying the siege force helped keep causalties low, and soon the smiting clerics of the army was able to start calling down the wrath of God upon those helpless Hibernians manning the walls.
However, the Hibernian adventurers bolstering the guard force in the keep was another matter entirely. Led by the hated Xero, a vile ranger of insatiable bloodlust, the Hibernian force was raining clouds of death upon the Albion attackers. Here, once again, the Albion scout division with the brave Aussie at its fore showed their valor. Engaging the enemy from extreme range with their mighty longbows no Celt nor Lurikeen would be able to draw, the scout squad were quickly able to suppress the defenders inside the keep, drawing their blood or forcing them to cower in fear inside the tower rooms.
Meanwhile, the armsmen and paladins had moved up to the sturdy wooden doors barring entry to the keep and had started bashing them in. With no siege rams at our disposal, this promised to be a quite lengthy undertaking, but it had to be done. Fortunately, with the number of powerful Albions joining it, it was not long before the first door flew open and the attackers were able to go to work on the second.
On the western and southern approaches to Dun Crimthainn, another kind of war was being waged, one much more deadly and silent than the crude arts of the siege. Minstrels the like of Snaky and Incetes were busy patrolling the area around the mighty keep, hoping to spot and potentially hinder any Hibernian forces attempting to close and bolster the defenses of Dun Crimthainn or even strike at the unprotected rear of the siege force. Sure enough, within minutes of Snaky having moved into position, the crafty minstrel detected a large Hibernian force approaching from the west. Notifying the rest of the army of this event, buying us some much-needed time to swing around and prepare for the attack, Snaky then was able to sneak behind the enemy. When the brunt of the Albion force then struck, charging down the steep slopes of Crimthainn, he was well-placed to wreak havoc among the wretched Hibernians with his mesmerizing song. Two times the minstrel scouts deployed around the keep were able to raise the alarm on approaching enemies, and two times the main army had time to reform and strike down the attack. However, the second time, the good Snaky was cut down and trod beneath the boots of the charging Hibernians.
The charge of the Hibernian reinforcements once again thwarted, another dire threat soon surfaced. For within the yard-thick walls of Dun Crimthainn, two bards were making our life difficult by continually reviving the dead corpses of the Hibernians we managed to slay. Again, the very fate of the entire siege force hung in the balance, and once again the rogues of Albion came to the rescue. The two infiltrators Hysteric and Cute, beauty and deadliness embodied, bravely scaled the keep walls and were lost above the parapet of the battlements, their posion-laced weapons at the ready. We can only imagine the immense dangers these valiant Albion women faced upon entry, but soon the last of the Hibernian bards lay shrieking in his death throes, potent venom pulsing like evil fire in his veins.
With the last threat to our siege obliterated, it was a small thing for the main siege force to knock down the last of the keep doors and penetrate into the courtyard of the keep, cutting down the Hibernian guards rushing to attack the intruders. Within minutes, the Albion invaders had reached the room at the top of the keep tower and were able to engage Lord Crimthainn in battle. Of this last battle, many names of valiant heroes can be listed, including those of Cerverloc, Gendarion, Edelia, Girash, and Rhuric. However, among the fellow Albions who charged the lord room that day, there can be only one candidate for the bravest defender of Albion: the armsman Radium Lockheart, who, after leading the charge against Lord Crimthainn and finally being the one to lope the head of that vile Lurikeen scum, tragically fell to his death from the tall keep tower.
Our joy turned bittersweet by the untimely death of our brother in arms, the Albion assault force reassembled on the courtyard of our keep and pondered our next move. Dun Crimthainn was ours, and with it, the key to the Hibernian frontier.
With the taking of Dun Crauchon fresh in our minds, our small but powerful army immediately started planning our next move. Instead of resting on our laurels and staying to defend the mighty Crauchon, we reformed our ranks into two full groups. Moving independently but with the kind of precise coordination that would bring a tear to the eye of any old warhorse, we marched to the Albion Mile Gate and then south through the lush valley leading to Briefine. The keep of Dun Crimthainn, key to the interior of the Hibernian frontier, loomed large in our collective minds.
Even as the two groups arrived just shy of the foot of the hill to the west of the keep, we sighted enemy defenders moving on its war-scarred battlements, and knew that this siege would be a formidable task. Dun Crimthainn, its approaches blood-drenched from the massive battles fought daily on its slopes, looked dark and brooding in the rapidly approaching dusk. Many Albion assault forces had been obliterated in their attempts to take the huge fortress.
Unfaced but surely sobered by the keep's grim history, the attackers formed up for battle, the last rays of the sun glinting across burnished shields and razor-sharp blades in our front ranks. Your chronicler, singled out for my lightness of foot and the hastening rhythms of my drum, sped up to the gates of the keep, provoking the Hibernian men-at-arms to pursue. Running back towards my comrades patiently waiting at the foot of the hill, I desperately dodged the arrows flying after me and the hounding screams of the Hibernian guards following me. However, I was soon able to dive through the front lines of our siege force, and, hearing the satisfying metallic clang of shields locking together behind me, was able to turn around and draw my own trusted axe to engage the enemy.
The guard threat gone, we were able to move up to the mighty gates of the keep and within the range of the enemy archers. Fortunately, however, the pulsing chants of the theurgists accompanying the siege force helped keep causalties low, and soon the smiting clerics of the army was able to start calling down the wrath of God upon those helpless Hibernians manning the walls.
However, the Hibernian adventurers bolstering the guard force in the keep was another matter entirely. Led by the hated Xero, a vile ranger of insatiable bloodlust, the Hibernian force was raining clouds of death upon the Albion attackers. Here, once again, the Albion scout division with the brave Aussie at its fore showed their valor. Engaging the enemy from extreme range with their mighty longbows no Celt nor Lurikeen would be able to draw, the scout squad were quickly able to suppress the defenders inside the keep, drawing their blood or forcing them to cower in fear inside the tower rooms.
Meanwhile, the armsmen and paladins had moved up to the sturdy wooden doors barring entry to the keep and had started bashing them in. With no siege rams at our disposal, this promised to be a quite lengthy undertaking, but it had to be done. Fortunately, with the number of powerful Albions joining it, it was not long before the first door flew open and the attackers were able to go to work on the second.
On the western and southern approaches to Dun Crimthainn, another kind of war was being waged, one much more deadly and silent than the crude arts of the siege. Minstrels the like of Snaky and Incetes were busy patrolling the area around the mighty keep, hoping to spot and potentially hinder any Hibernian forces attempting to close and bolster the defenses of Dun Crimthainn or even strike at the unprotected rear of the siege force. Sure enough, within minutes of Snaky having moved into position, the crafty minstrel detected a large Hibernian force approaching from the west. Notifying the rest of the army of this event, buying us some much-needed time to swing around and prepare for the attack, Snaky then was able to sneak behind the enemy. When the brunt of the Albion force then struck, charging down the steep slopes of Crimthainn, he was well-placed to wreak havoc among the wretched Hibernians with his mesmerizing song. Two times the minstrel scouts deployed around the keep were able to raise the alarm on approaching enemies, and two times the main army had time to reform and strike down the attack. However, the second time, the good Snaky was cut down and trod beneath the boots of the charging Hibernians.
The charge of the Hibernian reinforcements once again thwarted, another dire threat soon surfaced. For within the yard-thick walls of Dun Crimthainn, two bards were making our life difficult by continually reviving the dead corpses of the Hibernians we managed to slay. Again, the very fate of the entire siege force hung in the balance, and once again the rogues of Albion came to the rescue. The two infiltrators Hysteric and Cute, beauty and deadliness embodied, bravely scaled the keep walls and were lost above the parapet of the battlements, their posion-laced weapons at the ready. We can only imagine the immense dangers these valiant Albion women faced upon entry, but soon the last of the Hibernian bards lay shrieking in his death throes, potent venom pulsing like evil fire in his veins.
With the last threat to our siege obliterated, it was a small thing for the main siege force to knock down the last of the keep doors and penetrate into the courtyard of the keep, cutting down the Hibernian guards rushing to attack the intruders. Within minutes, the Albion invaders had reached the room at the top of the keep tower and were able to engage Lord Crimthainn in battle. Of this last battle, many names of valiant heroes can be listed, including those of Cerverloc, Gendarion, Edelia, Girash, and Rhuric. However, among the fellow Albions who charged the lord room that day, there can be only one candidate for the bravest defender of Albion: the armsman Radium Lockheart, who, after leading the charge against Lord Crimthainn and finally being the one to lope the head of that vile Lurikeen scum, tragically fell to his death from the tall keep tower.
Our joy turned bittersweet by the untimely death of our brother in arms, the Albion assault force reassembled on the courtyard of our keep and pondered our next move. Dun Crimthainn was ours, and with it, the key to the Hibernian frontier.
You are naturally free to write your own account. In fact, I will correct any errors in the above chronicle, so please point them out if there are any.