Arthanus

The Prince's Royal Guard

Once inside the gates Leonidas felt a small sigh of relief escape him. The city was intact and they had made it in time. But that moment of relief was a brief one because now the hard part started. One of the first things Leonidas saw inside the city was Faira going to fetch Arcius from the farm girl they rescued. Leonidas contemplated for a moment to stop her and let the girl fawn over Acrius for a little longer, but then decided it was about time for the distraction to be sent away anyhow and let Faira shoo the young girl away. Acrius Soon came up to bother Balthazar about cleaning his armor for him. Again Leonidas almost told Balthazar to let the boy clean it himself, he got himself into that mess rolling in the mud he shouldn't get the easy fix of magic to come clean again.

There was a bit more ruckus in the gatehouse as his troops and guard started to unwind a little bit after the long march. Leonidas continued forward with Balthazar and Rudolph moving forward to meet the Duke. The majority of the troops that they had brought quickly blended in with the rest of the Empire troops that had come to the city to defend it. While his Guard was able to take a little rest if needed.

@Hawthorne@Gisk@Borosev@Inertia@LadyRunic

The walk through Bergkoff's streets was an interesting one for Leonidas as he listened to Rudolph talk about his home, and he even gave a small glance at Zatana when the comments about Drow came up. "Now Rudolph, I don't know if you know this yet, but I plan to work on those prejudices through the empire. I won't downplay what they did to the Kingdom of Karsburg, but without those incursions and others like it Humanity wouldn't of banded together, we wouldn't of formed the Empire we are today. And then when attacks like this one would come your home here wouldn't of received the 500 extra reinforcements that is has gotten to strengthen its defenses and would most likely fall" Leonidas started his explanation. "And past that those Incursions were long ago and if we were to blame every Drow for the actions of their kin from that day in age wouldn't we be subject to the same? Think if the Dwarves still held humanity responsible for our acts of war from long ago? We took many of their Mountain citadels tried to use their fortified holes as our own. We set their people back generations destroying forges and desiccating their lands. But now they hold their lands, they are our trusted allies, and they provided us with cannons and weaponry to hold back this assault. If we let hatred of the past grip us, we will never be able to move forward." He finished his speech, making sure that he spoke loud enough so those of his guard who had stayed with him would of heard it clearly. After that he noticed Merik had gone off on his own. "Will one of you go find Merik, I don't know how the local troops will take a Lizardman just walking around." He asked while looking around at the damage that had been caused thus far. The city was holding up for now. And hopefully it wouldn't have to hold out for to long.

It wasn't to much longer before they reached the Keep, Leonidas dismounted his horse and left his Warhammer with his stead before moving on. Seeing the dead and injured after a battle was something Leonidas never felt he would truly get used to, but he pushed on knowing his time was better spent trying to end this siege stopping more from being injured than tending to those who already were being seen after. Although he did make a note to himself to come back and help heal the critically wounded after the meeting. Although his guard was allowed into the Keep, only Balthazar and Leonidas were permitted the audience with the Duke. The two men entered the hall Leonidas stood tall as he approached. "Greetings Duke Karstilli, we thought you might want a few more men to man the walls. I know it isn't much, but Lord Siegfried should arrive in the next two days with a company of 500 knights. Although I hope by then they will just be here for the clean up as we will have already finished this siege." Leonidas said proudly as Balthazar gave his own greeting as a small bow to the duke.

@ReusableSword

As Merik reached the western gate things had quieted down. The troops in the area were able to tell the lizardman that the enemy had retreated back into the mountains for now but that didn't really matter because the only thing this gate saw was a few Wolf riders going back an forth. One of the men commenting how the numbers were a lot thinner coming back then they were going out, and another boasting that he was able to hit one of the buggers and take them off their mount pointing at a dead goblin a bit away from the gate. Otherwise things were calm here luckily for Merik there didn't seem to be any cannons at this gate, apparently there were only four in the city and they were currently concentrated to the north to stop the advance from up there. Although the guards seemed to freely give this information and didn't say anything directly yo Merik, he could catch a few glances and hear whispers coming from them many of the soldiers not liking a lizardman in their presence. It was something Merik had seen before the Lizardman would know that many in the Empire looked down on races that were not human and the only reason these men even seemed polite was the Royal guard Symbol that he keep in plain sight.

The Prince's Royal Guard

The game has already started, but I can take another player if you are interested. please click the link in my previous post to go to the OOC Page @deia876lat

The Prince's Royal Guard

Leonidas Lead the charge and by the time the goblins noticed it was to late. The Prince came up upon one of the riders ready with one mighty blow. The goblin had seen him coming and tried to raise its shield, But it did little to help as Leoidas' Warhammer shattered the shield and embedded itself into the goblin's side. Cracking was heard as the goblin was removed from its mount dead before it even hit the floor. Leonidas quickly Spun the hammer in his hand adjusting his grip before dropping it onto the skull of the wolf mount slaying the beast as well. The rest of the charge went reasonable well. Many of the goblins found their lived ended by the spears of the Imperial Calvary and things had gone according to Leonidas' plan.

That is except for Acrius... Somehow the fool ended up on foot... A fact that didn't go unnoticed by the enemy forces as well. And although he was able to kill the one that looked like the leader of the goblins he had still left himself open. Two nearby rides had seen their master die and became enraged charging Acrius from both sides. Leonidas was able to see this and quickly rushed pulled the reigns of his horse rushing over to help the boy. Wolves although fast weren't bread for war and luckily Leonidas' horse was and had the speed advantage allowing him to catch up. The end Leonidas' hammer began to have a goldish glow come from it as he swung the mighty weapon crashing into the Goblin's head nearly taking it off just before it was able to throw its spear at Acrius. As the goblin's body fell to the side The wolf continued its charge a bloody frenzy in its eyes. And with the weight of the rider gone the wolf rushed forward in a burst of speed leaping at Acrius.

Balthazar shook his head in disapproval as he watched Acrius dismount, presumably to give the goblin leader a fair fight. Although he managed to dispatch of the rider with relative ease, now there were two Wolfriders moving to attack him. The Prince moved to deal with one, so the warlock decided to deal with the other. He spurred his horse forward, gripping the reins tight. With his free hand, he flipped back to the page he was once at, before firing off another shadowy ray, lancing downwards through the goblin's gut, and into the wolf's back. Both rider and mount soon curled up on the ground, presumably to die of blood loss. The rest was up to Acrius, now.

After the ordeal was dealt with, the remaining 3 goblins were able to see what was going on and took the smarter option retreating and started riding away headed North. Before any of his men road off to hunt them down Leonidas held up his hand, "Let them go, We don't know where they are going and we have something more important to do than hunting down a few stragglers." He said in a commanding tone before turning to the cart that had been the target of this small force. The horses that were to pull the cart were dead pelted with arrows to ensure the cart couldn't escape. It looked like the belongings inside the cart were still intact, but it seemed there had been a cost two bodies lie in the cart an older male and what could of possibly been his daughter. But it wasn't all bad as from underneath the cart the rest of the family started to emerge. A Woman presumably the wife of the slain man in the cart, a young boy that couldn't be more than 5 and a girl who must of been around the age of 18.

The knights circled up around the cart ensuring that no attack would come for the moment and the family looked around. The mother would come up to Leonidas her young son holding onto her let. "Mylord, thank you for coming to our rescue. We wouldn't of lasted long if you hadn't rushed to our aide how could we ever repay you?" The woman said giving a bow to the prince. The daughter on the other hand instantly rushed jumping at Acrius wrapping her arms around him "My hero! You were so amazing the way you leapt in to save me!" The girl said excitedly. Leonidas saw this and just sighed before turning back to the older woman. "There is no need to thank us, It is my duty as Prince to defend my people... I'm just sorry we didn't arrive sooner so we could of prevented this." He said sadly motioning to the two dead in the cart. "You have my condolences for your losses..." Leonidas continued before turning to Acrius. "Acrius since you don't seem to like your horse you are going to saddle yours up to the cart and ride with these fine people back to Bergkoff. You two stay with them as escort." He said while pointing out two of the Knights who responded with a salute. The mother smiled at the prince. "The loss of my husband and daughter will be a great one, but we will move on thanks to your actions my Lord," She says while turning to her daughter. "Elisabeth stop being rude and come show the prince some gratitude." She snapped back at her daughter who reluctantly let go of Acrius and came over giving the prince a curtsy "Thank you for saving us my lord" She said flatly before quickly turning and returning to Acrius while receiving a nasty glair from her mother. "So your name is Acrius then? I'm Liz nice to meet you." she said grabbing onto his arm.

The two knights Leonidas had picked up helped wrap the dead in blankets and got things ready for the cart to move again. After everything was set the group made its way back to the infantry troops The Calvary falling in on the sides to protect the flanks and the cart falling in behind the march. Leonidas made his way to the front seeing Rudolph and Merik as he approached. "Merik what happened to your horse this time?" Was the first thing that came out of his mouth as he fell into his position at the front before turning to Rudolph "Sorry we're late had something we needed to take care of." He added knowing that Rudolph would want to get to Bergkoff as soon as possible.

The rest of the march to Bergkoff was uneventful for most. Acrius on the other hand had to deal with Liz the entire ride as the girl seemed to be stuck to him, constantly asking questions. As the small force reached the southern gate the massive gate swung open and allowed them to enter the city before quickly being closed again. Leonidas would then order his troops to rest and be ready for new orders after finding out the situation within the city. Taking Balthazar and Rudolph with him as Rudolph knew the way to the town center and Balthazar would need to know where he was going to set up his desk.

The Prince's Royal Guard

-City of Bergkoff-
This city of 2000 Empire citizens stands at the border between the Empire and the Razorthorn Mountains. Built in a Gothic Victorian style the city takes up about a two mile circle surrounded by walls. These walls stand 30 feet tall and are made of stone providing the city with a hardy defense. The city has a major street leading from the northern gate to the southern gate this road is about 25 feet wide and in normal times is lined with stalls of vendors but as the news of an impending attack came trade has quickly died down as troops from the surrounding areas have gathered to help in the defense. The City has two smaller gates to the east and west each having a smaller 10 foot wide roads leading to the main road. Aside from that there are small 5 foot wide side streets running in circular factions in which buildings are built along both sides.

@LadyRunic@Gisk

Faira and Zantana leave the camp quickly and quickly ride for the city of Bergkoff. The ride is a short ten minutes and as the two approach the city its Walls start to come into view and the barrage of cannon fire continues to the north. As you approach it doesn't seem that the Orc forces have surrounded the city yet and you see some caravans fleeing the city. But it seems that your approach has been noticed by the soldiers on the wall. Seeing that you are not Orcs they seem to wave you over to the southern gate for entry into the city. Although the main gate remains closed a hidden door on the side of the gate is opened to let you in. After being hurried through the gate you are stopped by one of the guards. "State your business, As you heard we are in the middle of a battle. If you are here for shelter we don't have much room left but we can keep you safe here for now." The guard says while looking you over before noticing the insignia of the royal guard on your cloak. The guard instantly straitens up. "I'm sorry, I didn't know the Prince would be sending anyone ahead, Are his forces almost here? What can we do for you?" He stammers as he moves out of your way allowing you to pass into the city.

@Hawthorne@Inertia@Fetzen

After prepping his equipment to ride Leonidas mounted his horse and looked back at Manald, "Well a scared animal will run faster won't it? That means you should get there before the rest of us." He said back with a grin. "Yours is a fine horse give it some time and it will warm up to you. Just don't go biting it and we should be fine. Hell we got Merik's to stop freaking out and that guy is a giant meat eating lizard. Yours will do just fine as long as you don't well you know... while your riding it." He followed up before moving out to check on the others.

It took a little more than the Five minutes Leonidas had said for the Calvary to be ready to move but that was to be expected, getting ready to march did take a bit of time, but with that little kick of a time limit it did speed up the preparations a bit. Once the troops were assembled and ready the Calvary would set off on their way. At their marching pace it would take about 15 minutes to reach the City and things were looking clear, that was until they got about 3/4 of the way when something was spotted to the west. A pack of Wolf mounted goblins seemed to be circling a caravan that had left the main road. At a rough count there were 15 of them but they seemed distracted. Leonidas raised his mighty hammer into the air and then pointed it at the Goblins. "CHARGE!!! Lets show those monsters what happens to those that attack out people!!!" He yelled out as he pulled the reigns of his horse directing it toward the goblins who seemed to busy terrorizing their prey to realize that they would soon be under attack.

@Borosev@ReusableSword

The troops at camp hurried to prepare themselves and were ready to march within 8 minutes only a minute or two after the Prince and the Calvary had left. Their march was harder than normal, but not one that would exhaust the soldiers before they got to the city. The main troops were able to keep up a good pace and were even able to nearly keep pace behind the Calvary only barely gaining ground for a while. Luckily they were able to keep the Calvary in view and was even able to see as they started to break off after the goblins. But they were still to far ahead for the Infantry to be of any real help, by the time they would reach the goblins any skirmish that would happen would be over before they arrived. One of the troops in the lead ranks watched this and turned to Rudolph, "Sir! *huff Huff* Should we send a unit to assist the prince? *Huff* Or keep on to the city?" He asked moving alongside at their jogging pace

The Prince's Royal Guard

Leonidas gave a little grin as he saw his comment had brought Rudolph at least a little comfort.

"If the city were under attack, we'd be hearing those new toys going off."

"That we would, and we should take that as a good sign." He added slapping his palm onto Rudolph's shoulder. "We will make it in time to help your home that I promise you." Leonidas said just as Faira came to add her comment to the situation.

"Unless the fighting is over,"

"I doubt our luck is that bad, if that were the case there would be signs of that as well, we're close enough that we would see the fires if the city had fallen." He responded knowing at the very least they weren't to late.

Then a bit of commotion caught Leonidas' attention as Acrius got into a scuffle with a few of the soldiers. And after turning his attention to the boy, Leonidas was somehow able to break up the fight with just a look.

"Good morrow to you Prince Leonidas."

"Don't give me that, What have I told you about getting into Scuffles with the soldiers?" He said back still giving the boy a look. Although young and hot headed Acrius had a good head on his shoulders and had a good bit of potential. And before he could continue to grill the boy Zatana joined the conversation giving what was probably a good idea.

"Perhaps, Your Highness, I should go ahead of the company and see the state of Bergkoff. If the fighting is finished, or not yet started, the information would be valuable, yes?"

"Good idea Zatana, please do take one of the horses and head out as soon as...." It was then that the ground rumbled and a booming sound rang out in the distance. Leonidas instantly knew what that meant. and quickly turned to the camp.

"All troops its time to move! The city of Bergoff is under attack! This is what we came for. I want everyone to be ready to move in 5 minutes!" He yelled out to the troops before turning back to those gathered around him.

@LadyRunic@Gisk"Zatana, Faira I want you two to each grab a horse and ride ahead. I want a report on the enemy units by the time the rest of us arrive." He ordered not waiting for the two of them to leave before continuing hid orders.

@Borosev "Rudolph I want you to lead our infantry troops to the city. You should know this area and know the best way home and where a good place to strike should be." He continued before turning to Acrius.

@Inertia@Fetzen "I'm not finished with you, we will talk later... for now your with me. You as well Manald, the three of us will take the Calvary units and lead the charge." Leonidas turned back to the troops who were now hurrying around preparing for their fight.

"We will not let Bergkoff fall today!" He yelled out once more before turning and making his way to the make shift stables to collect his horse stopping by his tent to pick up his hammer along the way.

The Prince's Royal Guard

Hey so I set up a Discord for the RP feel free to join if you have any other questions or just want a place to talk about the rp off of the forum

The Prince's Royal Guard

@LadyRunic Zatana looks good a nice assassin type character and a good "shadow hand" for the prince if he needs it. Unti the twin loyalties gets called into play. if it does at some point. I'll accept

The Prince's Royal Guard

Yes I will allow your characters to grow and improve as the rp goes on

The Prince's Royal Guard

@ReusableSword@LadyRunic I'll still be accepting a few more players but I think I'll start moving the story forward tomorrow evening. @Fetzen again your free to post whenever you wish, and I'll let any of our late comers post in when their characters are accepted.

The Prince's Royal Guard

I would say for now one character at a time and see how things play out and then maybe I'll let people play multiples