Vanq

Allaria Ch. 4: Rescue and Escape

The Moving. That's the name Ceinna heard attributed to the large camp that spotted and filled the forest. People milled, talked, laughed, cried. The sometimes seductively alluring woman took comfort in the tears she heard coming from other tents at night. She was not alone in her grief, or in her anger. Months ago she had traded some of the last bits of her silken, expensive, clothing in exchange for food, coin, and more appropriate clothing.

Time spent on the run had not been kind to her. She had considered, more than once, turning back on such an impetuous decision she had made. Joining a resistance? Who did she think she was, what did she think she was? Much of her was still the same, she knew in times of less despair, but contentment had been replaced with vengeance that would not let her whimper back to Rocoa.

The tent she had taken up residence in was not her own. Another woman, rough around the edges and clad in well worn commoner clothing, had offered to let her stay with her. "Pretty faces don't last long, not even with the good'uns." Ceinna hadn't even tried to protest, a dry place to sleep at night, even if it was still on the hard ground, was better than nothing. And her host was often gone during the day, returning late at night.

Ceinna had lost track of how many days she had been in the camp. Going home wasn't an option, but in the moments she was free from sorrow, she couldn't help but wonder what good she was doing following this herd of people. Was there a plan? Surely there must have been, but she hadn't a clue who to ask. She wandered during the day, between tents, listening for any information she could over hear. There had to be more to do than just be there. It was a feeling that welled inside of her, the ache to do something, anything. But without a guiding hand, she was left to vainly hoping that someone would give her purpose.

Nar Mat Kordh-Ishi - an Orcish saga

Well normally if you assault a castle you don't waste time and manpower with an encirclement. The attackers might have both the manpower and materials needed to quickly take the fortifications by storm, and if this is the attackers' preferred policy then it would be more beneficial to not encircle the place completely, because totally isolated defenders might be motivated by desperation to fight to the death while the presence of a hope for escape (however false) might cause demoralized defenders to rout and abandon the defenses prematurely--as in some dramatic instances during the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history.

Though since they don't want any survivors they might actually encircle anyway. Ya that makes sense, so Nargesh's sally can be a diversion, after all it would be a very foolish defender indeed who would let the besieger work unhindered along the siege-lines; as long as there are warriors /blades to spare, any good defending commander would send small parties with missions to wreck the attackers' siege engines, disturb their camps, spoil or steal their supplies, harry their trench-digging or fort-building parties, and mess up with their preparations for escalade or similar endeavors.

On that note then, who want's to be part of the sally to disrupt the enemies siege weapons and preparations? Heck I imagine two different sally teams could work best to cause some confusion and avoid the enemy focusing on one. As a side note, Nargesh can carry at most one other person. :P

Seeing as our enemy is underestimating us good chance they won't expect a sortie.

@GreivousKhan

I'm up for a collab. Im now picturing the monstrous orc piggybacking the dwarf orc into battle. I'm amused.

Ainigma

I am closing this out. I appreciate the interest and support shown, and may take another stab at this in the future, but for now, I'm not going to drag it out.

Allaria Ch. 4: Rescue and Escape

I have plans to post for this tomorrow.

Nar Mat Kordh-Ishi - an Orcish saga

Runt wiped her mouth with a battle-dirty hand. Grimy, from the dirt, sweat, and blood of the battle, she still felt a high from the adrenaline that had coursed through her in the earlier taking of the castle. The bunnies had fallen before them like...well, like bunnies to tuskers. She had led her warband through the gates once they had fallen, swords at the ready and deep, guttural war cries that rose over the din of battle. One of them had fallen in battle, but Runt had escaped the fray with just a few scratches and mightily sore shoulder. The pain felt good, a reminder that she had lived through yet another battle in her life, a reminder of the damage she had dealt in return.

Grubby hands rubbed at the sore spot beneath the mail while took a few mouthfuls of a liquor she had found while inspecting the hold. It was weak with barely the punch that even dwarven liquors carried. She made her way to a courtyard, a courtyard that had once held nicely trimmed foliage with cared for pathways. She looked at, still perplexed at the things that bunnies - and knife-ears - spent their time on. Pretty flowers and green things. What a waste. Well, at least the flower plots had made a fair smelling latrine for the liquor that had moved through her system. There was something so satisfying about defiling the pretty bunny things in that manner.

Properly relieved, she made her way to the walls they broken through and flooded over. Not long after arriving at the walls, the tell tale signs of an approaching army resounded. With an angry glare, her head tilted up, to the sky that was all she could see above the walls. More bunnies? Her hand unconsciously gripped her falcata's hilt. More blood to be spilt. She rolled her shoulders, the pang of pain momentarily deepening. Whoever thought to take the castle so soon after they had done so...It was an unlikely coincidence.

Her eyes scanned the sudden burst of activity. Her fellow tuskers looked to their betters for direction, but largely moved around her, some acknowledging her. Her status as one of the Chosen granted certain benefits. She scratched at her chin before taking off at heavy trot, down the length of the wall. She knew where she wanted to be for the approaching battle. Perhaps they bunnies thought they'd be dead, or dead drunk. They wouldn't be ready for an all out assault and few things were as fear inspiring as a half-ogre in a blood rage.

"Nargesh!" Her voice was deep, robust, distinctly unfeminine even for an orc. The half-ogre grew in size as Runt ran closer. She was also clearly getting worked up. Perfect, really. "Another round of bunny hunting." A smiling grimace crossed her lips, the old scar puckering and pulling her lips into an odd expression. "Let's get some of the Blades to the gate house." Runt would have almost preferred to have the option of another easy exit. Typically not one for sneaky planning, blindsiding the bunnies and sending them scampering would have been fun nonetheless. There was no time for that now, though, and she knew both she and Nargesh would be happier meeting the fluffy ones head on.

Nar Mat Kordh-Ishi - an Orcish saga

right-o
a posting I shall go

Nar Mat Kordh-Ishi - an Orcish saga

opinions

Nargesh "Tall Shadow" gra-Gonhamph, Shadow of Death:

Runt respects, perhaps even likes (in some orcish way) the half ogre. Whether it was the fact that the halfie was also female and proof that Runt need not hide or feel ashamed of her gender-breaking occupation, or that Nargesh was truly gifted in swordsmanship, even she is not sure. Nargesh's personality, although with a noticeably lower intellect than Runt's, meshes nicely with her own views. They could probably get wasted together and not kill each other. Probably, maybe, hopefully.

Half-Face:

While Runt wouldn't necessarily think of the orc as a coward, neither would she find his wiliness appealing. Still, it's possible she was one of his many eyes and ears for the warband she commands. "Civil" terms, though not friendly.

Dakgu Elf-Scalper, the Wargkeeper:

Though his physical deformity and speech issue is off-putting, Runt can't deny Dakgu's usefulness for the group. Still, he's better than a lot of the other men in the company, and she doesn't mind his presence when he's not out scouting at least.

Grolan:

Runt could probably relate to Grolan's experiences, if the two ever had a discussion about it. Which...probably hasn't happened. But in theory, she could empathize.

Einark No-Tusk, the Bloodghost:

Einark seems to avoid her, in some that would spark curiosity. In Runt it seems to encourage instigation. She has jumped to the worst conclusions - that he too judges her for either fighting as a woman, or for her non-orcish blood. She has taken joy in pushing his buttons, waiting for him to spew his thoughts aloud and give her a reason to lash out. All in good fun, of course.

Quartermaster-Chief Kavu Brokentusk:

Kavu's interest in innovation or new ideas should be a boon to Runt and the occasional idea/smart thinking she offers. She has cautiously approached Kavu in the past with her thoughts on matters, since he seemed to keep writings on various battle topics.

Xozu Ten-Braid:

Rassmata 'Fireblood' Trolno:

Bel-Gond the Metal Wall:

Apothecary Ungoth the Fleshweaver:

Still working on these, but posting it with what I've sketched out for now.

Nar Mat Kordh-Ishi - an Orcish saga

Heh, seems no one likes Nargesh interestingly enough.

By the way, what stage of the siege are we at

@GreivousKhan

I plan on getting Runt's thoughts up today on the other characters, but I think her views on Nargesh being more on the favorable side.

Daily reminder that if the moon landings were faked, the Soviet Union would have called us out on it.

It feels kind of strange that conspiracies popped up surrounding the physical nature of the 9 11 attacks. Like, of all things, the conspiracy theorists chose an event where hundreds of eyewitnesses watched huge planes fly into some buildings. I'm pretty surprised that they stood standing at all after that, even if not for very long.

@Antarctic Termite

But don't you see, man, that, that's like, part of the conspiracy, man.
The government paid off thousands of people to pull that off, that's how deep it goes.

Ainigma

Just in general, I guess I'll add some things here to think about when it comes to creating characters for this.

What kind of person would seek out a place so isolated from everything they've ever known?

What kind of person would leave behind everything, in search of a place that may not amount to much more than myth?

Were they seeking Aeredal, or did they happen on it by chance? Characters could be one or the other. Aeredal is not widely known, the merchants bring goods twice a year, but strangely do not speak much of it when they leave. *spooky music*

Wars, conflicts, the daily grind of peasant life, exist outside of Aeredal. Aeredal itself will present it's own challenges, but there is no need to create a "special" character - perhaps they are running from something, but they could just as easily have been a farmer or a soldier, a disinherited fourth son or priestess.