(Collab w/
@DJAtomika @Samdragonx and HeySeuss)
Some bunnies were very kind. They would stand still or wait to be sacrificed. Tendun always enjoyed making a few changes to the usual method of sacrifice. The report that more fighting was to ensue left the full blooded orc with an unspoken uncertainty. To ensure himself victorious and with enough bloodlust for battle, cruel actions had to be taken. And what’s more cruel than executing those wounded that had opposed them just a little while ago? “Preferably in the most bloody of ways, of course.” The wounded were lined up. Some standing. Some already in position to be picked up. “Flaggy, you want some extra bunny bits to put on that spikey flag of yours?” He raised his sword and began breathing heavier.
Some of the bunnies yelled a bit. In his enduring enjoyment of making the room a bloody mess and gathering a pile of bones, Tendun had disregarded his surroundings. “What? Where is everyone?” The drums had begun resounding. Storming out the door with a skull in one hand and a tasty bit of bunny liver in the other, Tendun realized he messed up and begun running wildly while making up excuses to get an extra punishment for this.
“Save some skulls for me, Tendun. I’ll make sure our Pikes have some good trophies displayed on their shields after this battle’s done.”
Karrush planted her standard in the dirt and dusted off her chest armour. Her sword was planted in the dirt as well, and she pulled it from its place and swung it a few times to get rid of the filth. The first engagement had been rather filthy but her pike line had stood firm under her guidance. Shields up and pikes out, the filthy bunnies had pounded against their line and been filled full of holes as a result. The ensuing carnage left her wanting more, but the bunnies had retreated, pushing the front line out of the fort. She’d taken a moment with the rest of the front line Pikes, letting them get their shit sorted while she re-sharpened her blade. Now the order was for her line to advance, and the standard bearer belonged at the front, flag as high as their spirits.
Tendun turned his attention to the battlefield. “Stuff is about to get ugly. Better not miss this!” His excitement exceeded his ability to control himself. Time started to pass, slowly. The adrenaline surged through his veins with every step. His heart beats speeding up, his environment looking like ice as he moved to the front. Sound of the drums aroused the memories of previous bloodshed: a day in the hunt.
Winds of the east pressed a cold chill against his back. Why did they need to go hunting to seal a business contract. Clearly this was the work of someone who did not care for the better ethics of the job. But getting his blood would be easy, as it would just require an accident. A sharply edged accident. A bow in his hand, he could not handle. Or at least better never use again. Wouldn’t want someone to find out what he’d do. “This bunny is going down.” An old man. His beard well shaven. Short hair, but a brittle posture. He would probably have a load of wealth stashed somewhere from his mercenary days. To bad the bunny showed its ugly head too soon. It would have prolonged Tendun’s ability to reminisce about the past.
There they were, puny bunny heads. “Let’s get ugly!!!” The pace of the drums hastened. Slowly drawing his sword, Tendun remembered to switch weapons as some of these bunnies did wear actual armor. Bringing forth his falchion, he looked at his fellow tuskers. “Well? What are you all waiting for?!“ He rose his sword. “Get ready to chop some bunnies!” The beating of his armor was in tune with the drums and made the other tuskers surrounding him yell loudly. “Vras! Vras! Vras!” Some of them broke formation slightly. The taunting and terrifying looks of orcs happy for a bloodbath were very intimidating (to a bunny). With the large Tendun growling and roaring at the front line, most others behind him felt the need to join in the savage behaviour.
Koloch, by contrast, readied himself in resolve. He advanced in his heavy armor, with its slopes and angles for deflecting arrows, a blood-red, but black-helmeted, specter a gallery of gargoyle and gorgon faces on pauldrons and greaves and breastplate snarling at the enemy. “KEEP THE PACE WITH THE DRUMS!” and his bellow carried across the lines, directed at the pikes that knew the Drillmaster well enough. He carried his halberd and had the sword swinging at his hip, ready as a backup should the first weapon break or be lost.
Karrush banged her sword against her shield and roared, loud and proud. She raised her flag up high and pointed at it with her blade.
“See this, runts? This here’s the symbol of our Company! We fight for our honour! Glory in combat! Let the fields run red with furball blood! Vras! VRAS! FOR THE COMPANY!”
“Vraaaaaaas!” The group of wild orcs following Tenduns example charged forward meeting the enemy head on. In the corner of his eye there wasn’t a flag. Did he in his excitement mess up again?
The flag wasn’t behind him. It was ahead of him. Karrush had already charged forward, leading the Pikes onwards to meet their foe. Her roar, the loudest amongst the front line tuskers, rose above the cacophony as she met the onrush of fur and steel with her own, smashing into the fleshy pink bunny front line with shield extended and sword already stabbing into their ranks. Her blade sang in the midst of combat, stabbing and rending flesh as she snarled at the humans ahead of her.
The tuskers behind her were just as eager to enter combat, and the line of shields and long pikes crashed straight into the human offensive, drawing blood and pushing their line back in their fury. With blade in hand, Karrush roared and pushed the tuskers along, slashing and stabbing at the pinkies ahead of her while her line pushed forward.
Koloch stayed alongside the pikes, at the far right where there was no shield to cover his flank, taking the position of maximum danger in this formation, for which the Tusker to his left, usually the rightmost one, was grateful. He came with the pikes at a steady, relentless pace; some were down, others were at angles and the ones at back were up, circling in the air to catch missiles if they could.
The pikes had small shields that allowed them to grasp the pikes fully in two hands. The blades were nearby and Tendun and Karrush were charging them, but the Pikes formation was a relentless but steady beast of many quills, driving the enemy while they were already engaged, or engaging them so others could engage. And as those enemies became skewered, the next orc up took the place of the tusker trying to pull the pike out of the guts of the enemy, and the formation rolled on, though they were becoming bogged down in the mud, which led to warleaders to shout to make the tuskers keep their form. Some had to be picked up, or pulled out of the muck when they slipped.
They were drilled for this disciplined relentlessness -- this sort of fighting was only adopted by a few orcish tribes, and it was foreign to most, but it was the basis of all discipline in the company. He chanted along side as he dismantled the enemies that tried to exploit the seam and take a flank. He was not alone, there were some of the other Blades working alongside him, doing the butcher’s work to keep the enemy from trying to get around them. But it was extra work with so much mud...Koloch didn’t quite understand it. The mud was everywhere and he was finding himself knee deep, but there was no rain.
The spikes rained down on the enemies behind, starting a duel with their archers and the blades secured flanks, but the pikes were the pivot of the entire battle.
Not only did there appear a skyline of flaming arrows, but also all of the bunnies charged towards the tuskers. After the arrows had landed, their number of casualties seemed to be less than ours, though more were killed by their own friendly fire than the amount of tuskers that charged forward.
Their numbers seen clearly, the tuskers became a tad more excited than they already were. Fighting in all directions, most of the first tuskers started to shout with every human that fell. The tuskers still hidden in the darkness of what was the main line, were surprised the bunny archers did not try to to aim higher. It seemed like they were blinded somehow.
When some of the orcs got gravely injured, Tendun charged back to the main line. Messing up like this on a first try with well-armed tuskers wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t charge in so recklessly.
The few orcs that died in the fighting weren’t worthwhile, unless the enemy thought this was the full force. With the mainline now out for revenge their savagery would triple. Exactly the way Tendun liked it. Knowing the enemy's plan, giving them false hope and then stripping it away with every exploding bunny.
The bunnies left the wounded tuskers on the floor and chased Tendun as best they could. A signal fire might be lit, but that would attract the other bunnies. So there was only one thing left to do.. Raise a rally banner amidst the bunny army. The banner being on a spiky stick really made Karrush job easy and if she stuck the landing, would allow the fastest of tuskers to maybe catch a few commanders.
After all, charging into battle and chasing a captain or lieutenant with a blade strong enough to smash a horse's’ skull was really Tendun’s specialty.
Koloch’s method against the bunnies was essentially technique, not breaking the frame of mind he was in as discipline kept him in the fight and his furnace burned. But in the midst of the killing, he realized that some of these bunnies were bigger and fiercer than the others, dressed in furs and painted, and there were others behind them, coming. He could see well in the dark and count their numbers and location, so he shouted back, in Orcish, “TELL THE SPIKES TO TARGET FURTHER RIGHT AND TO THE REAR, THE BIGGER, LESS ARMORED BUNNIES ARE THERE. BREAK THEM! STOP THEM FROM OUTFLANKING US!” But the mud was still rising, and it was getting deeper and harder for the Tuskers to make way in it, while the bunnies were suspiciously dry and above water...
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