"This looks like a familiar lot," August chuckled mildly to himself as he arrived at the muster, giving a single nod in greeting to all of them. When it came to leadership he was relying on what he had previously experienced, hoping that the camaraderie of his fellow brothers in arms would ease any surprise or unease with his command.
All 'frog' spotters and killers.
"The Captain wants us to reinforce the flanks so we'll be looping around the south and returning. With our experienced squad I figure we should be able to survive the day. For team leads, Flameblade and.." He paused for a moment as an unexplainable flicker, for lack of a better description, flared in the back of his head and seemingly unconsciously shifted his attention to another recognizable figure among the group. "..Schenkle, if you will. The rest of you, gather the rest of your things and be ready to move within the hour."
August accepted the map and took a few to absorb its directions, passing it to Flameblade and Schenkle as well for their awareness. "We should expect enemy engagement, especially after the attack yesterday. We keep the squad in column formation, give ourselves plenty of coverage as we move to the south flank. I'll be damn if I let them cut us into two groups, using the same tactic against us."
Your squad moves and marches along well, each of the troops stepping together. It takes a couple hours for your squad to loop around the flank on the rough ground. Then a couple more hours for the next loop. It's not even thirty minutes into the third loop, you spot an enemy squad on a hill in the distance, making it's way towards your squad.
Upon notification of the enemy squad, likely by one of the scouts at the front of the formation, August rose his arm with a clenched fist in the well understood signal to pause matching. The location on the hill gave them the high ground so it would be foolish to charge, especially if they possessed any archers. Luckily though, it seemed the enemy was coming to them.
"Hold positions, make them come to us," August barked out, leaving his team leads to disperse the information for any who might not hear. If there was any question about what was going on, August's drawing of his longsword from its scabbard signaled the need to ready for command. "Schenkle, make sure the rear flakes keep an eye out for sight of any combatants that might try to encircle us."
A soldiering natural.. hopefully not of the soon to be dead.
The group of enemy troops moves right towards your squad. They move as a sloppy, undisciplined mob. They are all humans, in leather armor and all have long swords.
As the group approaches, the leader moves right towards you, swing his sword in front of him.
Who are these people? August thought as he took note of the undisciplined mob, noting the lack of any military insignia or skill. Not even mercs. As the group approached his attention went immediately to the leader, a tactical idea quickly formulating. Take out the leader and maybe the followers would scatter..
With a breath he felt that strange itching sensation flicker from the back of his head to the tip of his tongue, an arcane word faintly escaping his lips as a cacophony of other voices -- the ones without lips, gathered from the minds of those around -- briefly touched his mind before echoing off towards the approaching leader..
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
August let out something between a grunt and a cry as the first slash tore against his chest and arm, his reaction temporarily slowed from the miss of his earlier attack and attempt to handle this more subtly. Evading the second swing, he took a step closer and took his own swing with his longsword. Time for the more blunt approach..
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The leader only lets out a small grunt as he dodges your sword swing. He flashes a big smile when your sword cuts nothing but air. Then he cuts two big arcs with his sword, using the same attack again.
As the leader's blade cuts across August chest once again, threatening to aggravate and deepen an already piercing original wound, his skin suddenly seems to shimmer a soft blue (cast Shield). It comes as a surprise, almost a subconscious reaction to a likely fatal blow. A second chance.. Time to prove your worth.
Channeling the adrenaline pumping through him, August gripped his sword with both hands and lashed out again, pushing the reality of what was going on with his troops around him aside as he fought for his life.. and the respect of his position.
The same soft blue shimmers again against each strike, the last one causing it to flicker for an instant before fading completely to the torn armor and bleeding flesh. Your worth.. or worthless..
Lifting his sword again with both hands, struggling through his obvious wounds, August goes for another attempted strike. What was the saying they had said in his training? Every day was a good day to die..
August could feel the exhaustion ebbing through him, not necessarily a purely physical one but mentally as well. The soft scratching at the back of his head was quieter, duller, and much to his own surprise it felt disconcerting.
He ignored the taunting, both from the strain of his wounds and singular focus on the battle. It was time to test his skills and resolve as a soldier. Another grunt and a cry of exertion escaped his mouth as he swing his sword again after narrowly avoiding his opponent's own.
August twists to avoid one blade while blocking the other with his own sword, mentally cursing his missing attacks.. a result of his wounds no doubt. "What is it you fight so tirelessly for?"
"This looks like a familiar lot," August chuckled mildly to himself as he arrived at the muster, giving a single nod in greeting to all of them. When it came to leadership he was relying on what he had previously experienced, hoping that the camaraderie of his fellow brothers in arms would ease any surprise or unease with his command.
All 'frog' spotters and killers.
"The Captain wants us to reinforce the flanks so we'll be looping around the south and returning. With our experienced squad I figure we should be able to survive the day. For team leads, Flameblade and.." He paused for a moment as an unexplainable flicker, for lack of a better description, flared in the back of his head and seemingly unconsciously shifted his attention to another recognizable figure among the group. "..Schenkle, if you will. The rest of you, gather the rest of your things and be ready to move within the hour."
The troops assemble and listen to the speech. At the end they give a near single "Hurra!"
The supply wagon comes over to make sure everyone has full rations and waterskins.
And hour later everyone is ready.
Stedd Tallstag hands you a simple map marking the 'main force' and the 'south flank' with arrows.
August accepted the map and took a few to absorb its directions, passing it to Flameblade and Schenkle as well for their awareness. "We should expect enemy engagement, especially after the attack yesterday. We keep the squad in column formation, give ourselves plenty of coverage as we move to the south flank. I'll be damn if I let them cut us into two groups, using the same tactic against us."
Your squad moves and marches along well, each of the troops stepping together. It takes a couple hours for your squad to loop around the flank on the rough ground. Then a couple more hours for the next loop. It's not even thirty minutes into the third loop, you spot an enemy squad on a hill in the distance, making it's way towards your squad.
Upon notification of the enemy squad, likely by one of the scouts at the front of the formation, August rose his arm with a clenched fist in the well understood signal to pause matching. The location on the hill gave them the high ground so it would be foolish to charge, especially if they possessed any archers. Luckily though, it seemed the enemy was coming to them.
"Hold positions, make them come to us," August barked out, leaving his team leads to disperse the information for any who might not hear. If there was any question about what was going on, August's drawing of his longsword from its scabbard signaled the need to ready for command. "Schenkle, make sure the rear flakes keep an eye out for sight of any combatants that might try to encircle us."
A soldiering natural.. hopefully not of the soon to be dead.
The group of enemy troops moves right towards your squad. They move as a sloppy, undisciplined mob. They are all humans, in leather armor and all have long swords.
As the group approaches, the leader moves right towards you, swing his sword in front of him.
Who are these people? August thought as he took note of the undisciplined mob, noting the lack of any military insignia or skill. Not even mercs. As the group approached his attention went immediately to the leader, a tactical idea quickly formulating. Take out the leader and maybe the followers would scatter..
With a breath he felt that strange itching sensation flicker from the back of his head to the tip of his tongue, an arcane word faintly escaping his lips as a cacophony of other voices -- the ones without lips, gathered from the minds of those around -- briefly touched his mind before echoing off towards the approaching leader..
Casting Dissonant Whispers.
12 the leader shakes his head a bit, as if hearing an annoying sound, but still comes right forward.
Initiative 5
Dammit. So much for the easy way..
Initiative 13
The leader swings his sword in two wide arcs cutting in from both sides.
17 9
10 9
August let out something between a grunt and a cry as the first slash tore against his chest and arm, his reaction temporarily slowed from the miss of his earlier attack and attempt to handle this more subtly. Evading the second swing, he took a step closer and took his own swing with his longsword. Time for the more blunt approach..
11 damage: 3
The leader only lets out a small grunt as he dodges your sword swing. He flashes a big smile when your sword cuts nothing but air. Then he cuts two big arcs with his sword, using the same attack again.
14 12
17 10
As the leader's blade cuts across August chest once again, threatening to aggravate and deepen an already piercing original wound, his skin suddenly seems to shimmer a soft blue (cast Shield). It comes as a surprise, almost a subconscious reaction to a likely fatal blow. A second chance.. Time to prove your worth.
Channeling the adrenaline pumping through him, August gripped his sword with both hands and lashed out again, pushing the reality of what was going on with his troops around him aside as he fought for his life.. and the respect of his position.
Second wind: 7 HP recovery
5 damage: 4
The leader dodges your swing again, "You fight like an Old Woman!"
Then he cuts two big arcs with his sword, using the same attack again.
18 8
10 10
The same soft blue shimmers again against each strike, the last one causing it to flicker for an instant before fading completely to the torn armor and bleeding flesh. Your worth.. or worthless..
Lifting his sword again with both hands, struggling through his obvious wounds, August goes for another attempted strike. What was the saying they had said in his training? Every day was a good day to die..
11 damage: 4
The leader dodges your swing again "You could not hit the wide side of a barn!"
He swings again, two wide swings....
8 12
14 8
August could feel the exhaustion ebbing through him, not necessarily a purely physical one but mentally as well. The soft scratching at the back of his head was quieter, duller, and much to his own surprise it felt disconcerting.
He ignored the taunting, both from the strain of his wounds and singular focus on the battle. It was time to test his skills and resolve as a soldier. Another grunt and a cry of exertion escaped his mouth as he swing his sword again after narrowly avoiding his opponent's own.
9 damage: 8
The leader dodges your swing again "This fight is starting to tire me.....but you will die today, not me!"
He swings again, two wide swings....
12 6
10 8
August twists to avoid one blade while blocking the other with his own sword, mentally cursing his missing attacks.. a result of his wounds no doubt. "What is it you fight so tirelessly for?"
Another swing, another chance.
18 damage: 1
August lands a solid blow, through the gap in his armor, to slightly cause his shoulder to bleed.
Leader "Cause? My cause is money!"
He swings again, two wide swings....
21 10
14 8