>>18073488

were any of the infected friendlies or just slaves?

>>18073531
Seconding this question.

Also, horny were-critters. FUN.

>>18073531
Going with this question here I guess we could say "Is any one of our own or just some runaway slaves?" for example

>>18073488
I see no reason to not bind them and keep moving. We can try to help them when we have the chance but we have a schedule to keep.

You shrug "Were any of ours infected?" you ask as the camp slowly begins to rouse itself.

Gaius shakes his head "No, mostly prisoners and a slave or two. Fifteen were bitten all told. We'll see how many are truly infected come nightfall." And follows his statement with a very undignified yawn.

"Rest, my friend. I will have our nights fortifications down soon, and you dont need to be awake to ride on an autowagon." you instruct your captain as you begin to stretch and bring your mind into focus.

Chuckling, Sansa quips "I wonder if we would be reprimanded by the emperor for actively recruiting from the captured militia and levies for the were-beast forces you will need to keep as the Praetorian Arcane? Most of these men will simply end up as fodder for training battles at the officers academy."

>>18073805
"We'll have to see if any of the men even agree to it before we worry about that. And with the rate Uurlanth are adapting their tactics with the arcane and how long the cult has had to prepare, we may have to do all we can to ensure we have an edge over them for the future."

>>18073805

"Not if we have the volunteers enlist properly. That should cover us legally and get us the recruits we need."

>>18073842
seconded

>>18073842
seconding

addition: "They'll likely be too risky to keep for the tests, we may end up using those that don't agree to train our own men in battling werebeasts"

>>18073842
Second.

>>18073869
I agree with this addition.

Were-beast infected prisoners would likely not be used in the same way that regular prisoners are used in the academy tests.

You sigh "We will have to be certain to properly record their joining the Legion, as I am not officially a Praetorian yet, and I really do not want to have another scandal over levying men to fight for the Legion."

Sansa drops her head into her hands "Why did I have to open my mouth?" she asks "I will find the form needed... and find the mark making arcana, since most Uurlanthi smallfolk are unable to write. And we will no doubt be asked to prove that those men did in fact leave their mark."

"Either way we will need to keep the infected militia seperate, as they wont be safe for the average training battle." you add as you finally reach the edge of the camp, and the stone wall. Lowering the thing does not take very long, as you are well rested and the ground is plenty dry. Your force is on its way less than an hour later.

-----CQ-----

The clearing is quite large, unnaturally so. From the looks of it, the place is a long abandoned town. Most of the maniple is back in the center of the clearing, while you look over the reason the column has stopped at the mouth of the villages ruins. "Do you think they knew about this?" Jayne asks, looking over the massive tree blocking the exit from the clearing.

You shake your head "Fresh drag-marks from deeper in the forest." not looking to the colossal, freshly felled tree. Instead, you let your gaze linger on the only bits of building left of what was no doubt once a lumber town, some stone foundations that must have been the mayors manor, before the town was abandoned.

>>18074262
Stonesense to see if anything is within the ruins. Might be worth investigating the mayors manor for any hints on what might have happened here while they move the tree.

>>18074321
This gets my vote.

>>18074262
Use stonesense to see if anyone else is in the area. Send a few groups of scouts into the woods as well to check.

>>18074262
Where are we on the map? are these ruins on the map?

Can Vi or another life elementalist rapidly decay the felled tree with some sort of toxin or rapidly working something or other?

Perhaps we should send out scouts in force?

>>18074321
Second

We should also inform everyone to be on their guard.

We should still be able to pull the tree out of the way with a few volunteers or animals.

>You are in the middle of the forest you had to pass through in an unmarked ruins

You sigh "Either Vi can try to decay the thing, or I will break it up with stone spikes. Either way, we need to just demolish this thing and move on, we are trying to keep to a set schedule after all."

Sansa nods, and turns about to fetch Vi as you stretch out with your stonesense. What you feel on the ground... unnerves you. Feet, many of them, dropping down to the forest floor, while others are running towards the edge of the clearing. Autronius heaves a sigh from beside you "After this, we turn around to burn that shitstain of a lumber village down, right?"

You turn to question the mystic, when you see what he was talking about in the forest. Just a glimpse as the warrior scurries to his commrades, but the deep orange skin and shock white hair make it more than obvious. Hobgoblins. "How long do we have?" you ask Autronius.

He closes his eyes for a moment, before replying "Long enough to deploy from the autowagons. If we take too long, there will be more members of this clan striking from the rear of the clearing as well."

"So, they are still gathering then?" Jayne clarifies

Autronius nods "Around the strongest or smartest warriors. It will not be long until the groups begin to erupt from the woods after us... They want our supplies of course." he pauses, then groans "And our flesh. This clan has no quandaries with eating those they kill on the battlefield."

>>18074713

Blackbird's crew aren't going to be of too much use. This enemy probably knows this terrain too well.

What direction is the wind blowing, if any?

>>18074713
Don't think we need a specific formation at this point other than ranged units in the center and spread our melee units around in a circle to protect us. I'd say have our centurions facing the north where the tree blocking us is and the mercs facing the other directions.

>>18074876
Seconding this

>>18074713

Gather our earth and water elementalist, coordinate with them to raise a set of defensive structures in the clearing to the left.

>>18074713
Lets create an earthen wall to protect the melee units that are near the ruins as the enemy may take cover there

Alright details on our formation - Scouts and dead eyes in the center with the centurions in the north, redsteel elites to the west, unshakeables to the east and kestrin raiders to the south. Have Jayne's cavalry next to the centurions for now since I imagine we can have them charge units that come at us and putting them there should let them move easy enough.

>>18075058
Let's go with this

>>18074713
>>18075058

I'm thinking of a formation like this, with a gap at the end for our cav.

If we can get our earth elementalist to depress the ground at the grey area, we set up a good charge point where any enemy attempting to break through that area immdiately faces a full on charge by our heavy cav.

Requesting unit list.

For retinue - I say Collin with the Unshakeables and put Catalina and Laelith in the middle for now so they can move to whatever side needs them most. I say Justinian deploys with Jayne for now.

>>18075110
I think that might take too long to do, especially since we'd need to move the wagons from the road into that position.

>>18075329
That works for me

>>18075236
>Maximus had the unit list right
>>18075329
>correct

>if you dont like this deployment, speak now. Sansa isnt deployed yet, and I tried to work in 風林火山's idea somewhat, those would be the gray lines.

>>18075409
Lets put Sansa with the Kestrin raiders.

>>18075409
I'm gonna suggest putting Sansa with the scouts or giving her a small detachment of the deadeyes to do with as she sees fit while letting aurelius retain command of the rest of the group

>>18075459
I say give her a small detachment of dead eyes mostly because she's an archer and the scouts use crossbows. We should get her a unit of troops to command on her own in the future.

You feel the enemies continuing to approach, and calmly turn to your force "Dismount and form up! I want the 75th Deadeyes and 50th Scout in the center, 190th to the fore, Kestrin Raiders to the rear, Redsteel Elites and Unshakeables to the flanks! Sansa, tkae the 15 Deadeyes you work best with and take to the field with them to act as you see fit, Collin lead the east flank, Laelith and Catalina stay with the ranged units!" as the battalions scramble to form up, you erect some low stone walls from the earth. they arent enough to defend a city, but they will be enough to prevent an effective charge.

You jog back to the column, and leap up onto Spite, falling in with Jaynes cavalry easily. Jayne sighs "I take it we will weather the first wave, then charge forward through that damn tree and out of this clearing?"

You shrug "Or something to that affect. I will decide once we see how large this clan is."

Before Jayne can retort, captain Damian jogs over to you "Where do you want my Skywings, commander?" However, before you can reply, the hobgoblins begin boiling forth from the forest. They have no formation, no real plan beyond killing all of you, that much is certain. Their weapons are either wood and bone and stone, or stolen iron and steel weapons. Very few have armor of any sort, and those that do are clearly in charge to some degree.

A few have hollowed out animal horns, which they blow on, as their kin and friends bellow out warcries as they charge towards your line, barefooted, and fearless. Many of them have their hair greased up to resemble horns of some sort, though those of an orc of the old clans are the most popular.

>well, here is your first round of action, roll for anything but command

>derp, heres the map

rolled 55 = 55

>>18075812
Let's do this. Combat roll! I assume this will determine how effective our archers are.

rolled 83 = 83

>>18075812

Ele Roll!

Spike 'em!

>>18075812
Skywings: Go airborne and surprise the leaders of the wargroups with flybys. Don't concentrate on one group. Be unpredictable.

rolled 62 = 62

>>18075923
seconding with a command roll

Tell Sansa to snipe their leadership (those with armor) as well.

>>18075998
>>18075923
These sound like solid plans.

"Take to the sky, and make passes at the hobs at random" you order the captain, before focusing and trying to spike away as many of the onrushing hobgoblins as you can from the larger of the two groups striking from the north. "Sansa, if you can, target their leaders." you shout over your shoulder. as you observe your handiwork. Its not quite devastating, the stone wrath you unleash on the hobgoblins, but when combined with the focused efforts of your ranged units, a satisfactory toll is reaped.

You hear some of the Redsteel Elites yelp in surprise, and you look behind yourself to see Catalinas two large combat constructs lumbering towards the large mob of orange flesh rushing towards the unit in question. A fresh set of primitive horns draws your attention back north, where a decent sized mob of younger, less healthy looking hobgoblins is gathering behind the fallen log, all of them wielding bows of some sort.

>you'll be in combat soon, so everything will need rolls.

rolled 55 = 55

>>18076171
Earth ele roll Stone Spike the Goblins with the bows

rolled 74 = 74

>>18076171
KILL

stone spikes to the northern group

rolled 100 = 100

Command roll. Get the redsteel elites meet the charge on the west after the scouts fill them with bolts. Deadeyes focus on the eastern unit and have the unshakables meet them. Let's have the Centurions ready to hold the line as best they can and the Kestrin raiders move up to support them. Finally charge through the left hobgoblins to the north with Jayne and head to them archers once we clear through the unit.

rolled 80 = 80

>>18076234

BOTCH

rolled 68 = 68

>>18076234
botch

rolled 86 = 86

>>18076171
Rolling for combat.

Justinian Trentz - Smashes Uurlanth armies all over the place but gods save him if he fights a hobgoblin.

>>18076348

Or mountain bandits

As the westmost of the two mobs of hobgoblins continues to bear down on Jaynes cavalry wing, you raise your gauntleted fist to fire off a series of commands with your signal flare ring. First among them of course, is for Jaynes wing to counter-charge, an order that you shout out to the soldiers around you, though that is mostly for morale purposes. Unfortunately, as Jaynes unit begins to barrel forward, you learn something new about Spite, he hates hobgoblins. Your mounts eager charging throws your arm from its skyward angle backwards, pointing it down into the dirt, where the rest of your signals fire, but none save the Centurions are able to see.

Thus, as Spite rears up, and begins shredding and taring his way through the mass of orange flesh, purple blood staining his fur, claws and teeth, the battalions interpret your apparent order for a general charge as best they can. The ranged units focus their attentions on the bow-wielding hobgoblins behind the massive fallen tree. They reap a bloody toll through the ranged unit, and luckily, attract the mobs attention, receiving the whole of the uncoordinated, inaccurate retaliatory fire.
>cont'd

As you scramble to draw your blade, more shocked by your mounts disobedience than unable to effectively move as he continues to gorge himself on hobgoblins, you find yourself admiring the mercenaries you hired. As, despite the unsoundness of the orders they believe they are acting on, they do an excellent job of cutting through their orange-skinned foes. Collins frustrated cries as he prowls the battle looking for a skilled foe echo from the east, and the hobgoblins terrified shrieks as Catalinas flesh golems tear through their ranks from the west. Finally, as Jaynes wing is nearly though the first mob to leave the forest, your blade is drawn, and you draw blood yourself, decapitating the nearest hobgoblin, saving it from a much crueler fate at the hands of your mount.

rolled 74 = 74

Have Laelith open up on the flank of the enemy in front of her. Rest of the units just kill whats in front of them while the scouts shoot the hobgoblin archers and the deadeyes focus on the unit the centurions are fighting if they can. Otherwise hit the archers. Have the bear cav start prepping to charge the unit the redsteel elites are fighting. Rolling command.

rolled 92 = 92

>>18076658
Elementalism roll Stone spike those goblins with the bows

rolled 80 = 80

Rollin for combat, get spike back under control

rolled 45 = 45

>>18076658
Rolling for combat

>>18076708
ITT Justinian derps it up, still secures victory.

For lack of any other orders to give, you set Laelith to turning her fires on any hobgoblins that move to flank the 190th. As more mobs of hobgoblins begin to clear the forest, you attempt to drive more stone spikes through the ever shrinking mob of hobgoblin archers, through it has no noticeable effect as arrows and crossbow bolts continue to fly back and forth.

As the house Garlian cavalry crashes into a fresh mob of orange flesh and greased white hair, you realize that you gave the order to come about and support the Redsteel Elites far too late. The pain shooting through your right leg as a stone club smashes into it, seemingly for the sole purpose of driving home just how much your delay in issuing orders may have hurt your chances of escaping this trap. A quick check with your stonesense reveals to you that more clans of hobgoblins are approaching, to the extent where you think it may be the entire forest converging on this battle. Something in the back of your mind tells you that it would take far too long for anything to arrive from the far reaches of the woods, but it becomes blatantly clear to you that these hobgoblins need to be broken, or you need to escape, or you _will_ be overrun.

rolled 14 = 14

>>18077054
Combat ROLL I TIRED OF THIS WE GOTTA CUT THEM DOWN

rolled 15 = 15

>>18077054
Rolling for combat.

>>18077137
Good times

rolled 25 = 25

>>18077054

Rolling Ele. Spike the bastards in the middle.

rolled 38 = 38

I'm thinking we're going to have to fall back at this rate. Head back to the town that we spared and find out if they set this up. Although we can't really escape with out units engaged the way they are... We need to pull back from the unit we're engaged with and charge the units engaging our guys. See if we can pull back and hit the ones engaging the redsteel elites again. Looking at it, I don't even know if we can escape with how fast these guys are. Command roll.

>>18077054
Let's have our bear cav wheel around and hit the unit fighting the centurions from behind. while we do that we should have the skywings attack any hobgoblin units that aren't in melee combat with one of ours

>>18077381
Sure. Change what I said to have the bear cav do that instead.

Finally, you find yourself hitting your stride as the House Garlian cavalry wheels around as it plows through the current mob of hobgoblins. As deadly as your mount, slaying foes with every sweep of your blade, you fire off orders to try to compress the formations, to attempt to prepare to pull back as the small hordes of hobgoblins bear down on your beleaguered lines. Earthen spikes and arrows slaughter what remains of the hobgoblin archers with piteous ease.

Then, you see Sansas small unit leap into action. Confused, you turn your head about, and spot her target. A small band of hobgoblins, their hear greased to resemble flickering flames, all of them fully armored, in what is clearly well maintained steel. the leader is obvious, one eye long lost to battle, a pair of wickedly curved sickles in his hands, a ragged black cloak hanging from his shoulders... and your wife is tracing the most direct line she can towards the brute.

You find yourself torn as you sheathe your sword and draw your spear in anticipation of the charge you are moments from following through. Trust that Sansa and her hand-picked soldiers can decimate these aermored hobgoblins, and break the will of this ambush in the process. Or, you opt for the safer choice, order her back, and retreat to the village you left standing yesterday.

rolled 39 = 39

>>18077606
Get the Kestrin raiders up there to help the centurions hold the line. Archers just shoot down the approaching units while the skywings give the approaching leaders a nice volley. Command.

Tempted to say we split off from Jayne to help deal with the leaders. What do you guys think?

rolled 62 = 62

>>18077606
Combat roll so much hate for the hobgoblins

rolled 22 = 22

>>18077664
I'm fine with that, rolling elementalism. lets try and spike the leader as well as the group that's between sansa and the leader

rolled 41 = 41

Tell Collin to go help Sansa.

Elementalism roll to spike the goblin units with 118 and 210 gobbos.

>>18077265
No. No falling back! Wulf's half of the maniple would then get cut off and have to fight the gobbos by themselves.

>>18077664
Nope don't want some horrible trap happen and we fall off Spite with our messed of leg

>>18077814
I agree. Falling back would cut Wulfs force off from us and only serve to delay both of our forces. And we would still have to deal with the forest or take a much longer time going around it.

We should trust Sansas judgement. She knows what she's doing

You lance your spear through the first hobgoblin that comes into reaches skull, and continue to ride on, using the beasts body as much as you use your spear to kill the next one, and the next one. The warriors arrayed before you are nowhere near your level, and, while not on your best form, you are still more than a match for them. Not to mention thousand pounds of furious, raging uursan you are astride as the hourse Garlian cavalry smash through the mob accosting the RedSteel elites. You signal for the Kestrin Raiders to move to support the 190th Centurians, but seconds after the flare is acknowledged, a mob of hobgoblins boil through the forest from the south.

You quietly curse to yourself as another splash of purple blood colors your face, it is not a large mob, but it is enough to give Captain Eschron reason to signal for a clarification of orders. With your ranged units pouring all of their fire into the massive mob of hobgoblins trying to press through Gaius' Centurians, the fight to the north is grim. Even with Laelith pouring fire into the orange-skinned warriors, it is dicey, and with Catalina tearing blades of bone from corpses and using them to shred the living, it is far from a certain thing. But if the fresh horde of hobgoblins strikes their rear, it will be a guaranteed route.
>cont'd

As you think, you glance to the fight against the contingent of hobgoblin leaders, and realize that the Deadeyes Sansa chose were not just the ones she works well with, but the ones she had trained. Every last one of them fights with that same reckless abandon characteristic of your wife. All of them dance about, twin long-knives flashing as they seamlessly trade foes with one another. A handful of her chosen soldiers fall, but it is swiftly becoming clear that they have the upper hand.

Your wife, however, does not leave her foe. The tow of them move in a blur, blades ringing out against each other, fresh slices and gashes constantly appearing on both combatants. Trusting her own judgment and skill, you return your focus to the hobgoblins before you, and quickly dispatching them as the battle hangs in the balance.

rolled 45 = 45

>>18078104

Command Roll, hold the line!

rolled 47 = 47

>>18078104
rolling elementalism again, let's spike that unit at the bottom of the picture

rolled 27 = 27

>>18078114
Rolling combat.

Tell the Kestrin Raiders to hold the southern flank. Maneuver the cavalry to hit that same group of gobbos in the south.

Keep tightening those lines until they hold dammit!

Again you signal to hold the line, as you break through the far side of the mob of hobgoblins you are currently in with full momentum, and an increasingly wrathful wedge of cavalry behind you. Stone spikes, arrows, throwing axes, the southern horde of hobgoblins is considerably thinned by the time the wedge of uursan riders strikes them, mere seconds before they impact the Kestrin Raiders battle line. With a cold detatched precision you act as an executioner to the short warriors, even as Spite shreds them under his padded, clawed feet as he barrels onwards. The circling valkeries continue to pour repeaterfire into the forest around you, diong their best to keep the clearing int he woods from having any more foes burst through, and succeeding for now. Though, as you glance about to the increasingly bloody battle, you reach out with your stonesense and realize that you will not be able to hold this clearing much longer.

Off to the north you glance, to See Sansa, covered in cuts, and favoring her right arm drive one of her blades into her foes shoulder. With a feral war-cry she twists the blade, and pulls it clear, taking with it a large chunk of gray meat. All about her, her chosen soldiers and Collin continue to pick apart the hobgoblin leadership, utterly mercieless and remorseless, far to swift and agile for their foes to land a single stroke on most of them. Sansa ducks a vertical sweep of the Cheiftains sickle, and sweep his legs out from under him in one motion. The brute rolls clear of what should have been a killing blow, but it is clear that your wife broke his ankle in the process. She will win, she will win soon, you just need to bring his clan to the breaking point, or close enough soon enough for that to matter.

rolled 17 = 17

Combat roll Let's stomp them out

rolled 69 = 69

Keep the cavalry charging counter-clockwise. Hit the mob of goblins accosting the Unshakables.

Keep up the men's morale. We're not dying to a bunch of goddamn random goblins. Our men are too well-trained to die here, to these weak opponents.

Command roll.

rolled 23 = 23

Rolling elementalism. Spike the eastern group.

... We have nowhere to retreat now. The men cannot rout.

So we have the enemy exactly where we want him.

Split your lungs with blood and thunder,
When you see the white whale.
Break your backs and crack your oars, men!
If you wish to prevail...

This ivory leg is what propels me,
Harpoons thrust in the sky.
Aim directly for his crooked brow,
And look him straight in the eye!

White whale - Holy grail!
White whale - Holy grail!

The southernmost mob of hobgoblins disintegrates as Jaynes cavalry clears what was once the edge of the mob. As you again couch your spear, prepared to crash into yet another mob of the orange-skinned warriors, you bellow out "BEREAK THEIR BACKS!! SHATTER THEIR WILLS!" and for a moment, as Sansas selected few nearly finish off the hobgoblin leadership, a cheer rushes through your troops.

However, as Sansa retaliates for the fresh gash from her left shoulderblade to the right edge of her hip along her back by completing the spinning kick she took the gash for, reality sets in. Because, as the hobgoblin chieftains jaw splinters to a thousand tiny pieces, your men realize that it is the patrolling Skywings that is making this battle winnable, their efforts to kill every hobgoblin that breaks through the edge of the forest all that is keeping them alive. As Sansalifts the hobgoblin cheiftain to his knees by his greased, bloody hair, knife poised to humiliate or slay the leader, Jayne thunders up beside you "We will not have much time to collect our wounded." She observes between swings of her polehammer, as the massive log barring your path begins to fall to rot and decay. You grunt in frustration, the remainder of your trip thorough this forest will be a difficult trek, you suspect. But maybe, if you dont stop moving, you will be able to make it through alive.

rolled 4 = 4

>>18078602
Combat Roll Ain't gonna die here

rolled 38 = 38

>>18078602
Elementalism roll. Spike the hobgoblins that are engaged with the 190th

rolled 94 = 94

Keep the cavalry charging counter-clockwise. Hit the largest group attacking our Centurions. BLOOD AND THUNDER!

Order the Kestrin Raiders to assist the Centurions.

If we rout the current groups of goblins, we can gtfo before more arrive.

Command roll.

Well, if we had field medicae, they would be gathering up the wounded while everyone else fought.

After the gobbos rout, tell everyone who can still stand to grab a wounded buddy and head for the wagons.

The valks can air evac any stragglers.

>>18078650
Sounds like a plan to me

Sansa howls in victory as you continue to ride along with the House Garlian Cavalry, smashing a hold through the eastern mob of hobgoblins, and working back to scythe through the northmost horde again. You begin to fire off orders from your signal ring, but, as the goblins begin to route at the sight of their leaders severed head held aloft for all to see, they fall back on logic and years of instinct and training.

The men armed with melee weapons immediately set about aiding their live friends, or preparing the fallen for quick funerary rites from Catalina and the handful of Neshai chaplains huddling in with the camp followers and support workers.

Those soldiers armed with bows quickly fan out, ignoring the fleeing hobgoblins in favor of making certain that the edge of the forest remains the edge of the hobgoblin advance. Before you can give any other orders, Sansa topples over, tired and bloody, but alive and victorious.

A few of the skywings swoop down to collect additional bolt boxes for their airborne comrades repeaters, as Captain Damian drops in to announce "We can hold them for an hour at the most, by then we need to be moving." he informs you curtly, before having his mount flit over to the supply wagon his men are at to help ferry additional ammunition to his airborne soldiers.

"Would you rather I try to get a handle on The Bill, since it seems Sansa is unable to do so, or work to keeping casualties lower?" Jayne asks as the last of the fleeing hobgoblins breaks back through to the forest.

>>18078692
Tell Jayne to keep the casualties lower and let's get out of here as fast as possible. 30 mins tops

"We can do the counting later. Please help the wounded.

I say round up our earth elementalists, and start putting up pit traps near the edges of the clearing, and on the road behind us.

And have Vi make sure the tree log blocking our way is completely gone.

>>18078719
this.

>>18078724
as long as we do this in a timely manner this sounds fine

>>18078692
Have Jayne keep the casualties lower. We need to get out of here as soon as possible.

When we are far enough away from the clearing we should erect some stone walls to slow any pursuers that we may have.

"See to the wounded. Lets aim to be out of here in half the time that the Skywings can give us." you order, wiping the sweat and blood from your brow as you pull your helmet off of your head.

You ride over to Sansa who is now lying on her back, panting heavily "How bad?" she asks, worry on her voice.

You lift her up, despite your leg nearly giving out when you slide off of Spites back "Not as bad as it could have been, love. But we need to keep moving. I'll get you to the medicae, and we can worry about the damage later."

Sjhe forces a grin through the pain her battered and bloodied body is clearly in, and asks "After we burn that village to the ground? That bit of retribution will certainly garner us some favor with Jogra..." she trails off, shaking her head at her own comment. Grinning, you heave her up onto the autowagon that is already serving as an impromptu medicae tent.

All around you, your soldiers are field-stripping the fallen As Catalina and her priests summon or consecrate flames, incinerating the bodies to ensure they fallen are not denied their rest. They build no pyres, say no chants save the one Catalina had shouted for all of the fallen before they began. Bone tired, the little necromancer and priestess leads the efforts to ensure that all of the fallen are given a proper final rest.

-----CQ-----
>cont'd

For four days, they hounded you. The autowagons wail for maintenance, the men, accustomed to sleeping on them, look ragged and tired. The wood you looted from the last village is already being bitten into in an effort to replace the arrows expended keeping the hobgoblin tribes clear of the column as you continue through the forest.

No more have died from wounds suffered during the battle, but, occasionally, hobgoblin arrows strike an unlucky soldier as you continued on down the road. But now, as you finally near the edge of the forest, perhaps a days ride from it, the enemies seem to have given up on your column. "Do, do we rest, or push through to the end?" Sansa asks, still trying to properly adjust the Butchers Bill to accurately tell the sad tale of this damned forest.

"We have rode nonstop for four days. One more will no more kill us than the last one did." Gaius gruffly calls from his wagon, clearly pissed, as are many of the members of this half of your maniple.

However, most of them are silent, and watch the woods, expecting another pack of screaming, raging hobgoblins to leap towards the wagon, another one just barely big enough to slip through the arrows and arcane wrath directed at them to force the riders to take up their weapons and strike down the attackers.

"We'll push on through just to be safe. Just one more day of hard riding. Our wagons will need serious repairs after this anyway."

>>18078904
Yeah we really can't rest knowing they are in the forest just waiting so I agree with this

>>18078863
No sense in staying in the forest as long as we are being pursued. Lets keep on going.

You sigh tiredly "I agree with Gaius. We need to keep moving, to be certain that we are clear of the hobgoblins." you pause "Besides, once we stop, we will need to repair the autowagons, which will take more time than we can spare."

Sansa nods "I will wait to give you the Bill until we have met up with Wulf and the rest of the maniple. At least our next engagement will be easy."

Vi forces a laugh from behind you on the wagon you are riding "We think that by saying that, you invite misfortune."

Sansa looks at Vi "Saying that it will be easy?" she shakes her head "After these last four days, I think no matter how mad or tiring this next battle is, it will seem easy."

Laelith nods "And have fewer casualties."

Jayne looks up from your lap "I agree with Vi, by expecting things to look up, they will get worse... we are just foru maniples sent to topple a Major Lord and his immediate retainers. We will be a sad, ragged band by the end of this campaign, whether a victory or defeat, I fear." You decide to not reply, and instead, drape your arm back around the tired woman, hoping that she will be able to catch a bit more sleep.

>well, thats it for tonight
>someone archive please
>I'll be back sunday at 9pm server time, or the following tuesday at the same time if I have something come up.

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