... and when something did, it usually meant trouble. Following her escape from the Bull ambush, Queen Lara and the few other survivors had been fleeing for days to avoid getting caught. However their pursuers had gained on them on the open plain.
The Chieftain responsible for the hunt cleverly cornered the exhausted band just before they'd have reached safety.
Chieftain: "The chase ends here, woman. Give up now."
Lara: "Never!"
However, no one noticed the sorceress on the other side of the river.
*zap* Chieftain: "Damn them and their tricks!"
Sharlena: "My Queen! We're lucky to have found you! Where are all the others?"
Lara: "Dead. They fell in an ambush. The Bulls are not what they used to be: they've become more cunning and organized. But who's this 'we'?"
Cales: "That would be us, your grace. The whole Empire is in an uproar. When we heard a person of your importance put herself in such danger I gathered what men I could to find you. You shouldn't have been so reckless, imagine what would have happened if the Bulls had caught you."
Lara: "But they didn't. What should interest you more is that there's a whole army of them after us. They're aiming at more than just me. You should be grateful; thanks to me, you brought your army out here in time to face them!"
Cales: "Hmm... I'm not sure if I would prefer open battle now, but you may be right."
Chieftain: "Blast, the Imperials are here. Time to fall back, boys."
Cales: "... regardless, we'll have to drive them back here, now that we've come so far. Return to Starkeep, Your Grace. We'll buy you some time. As for you, you've done well."
Bodyguard: "Thank you, sir."
Lara: "I won't run while the rest of you are fighting and dying for me here!"
Cales: "If you get caught or killed, our sacrifice will mean nothing, Your Grace. Please, return to Starkeep. I can arrange an escort if you like."
Lara: "Very well, but there's no need to treat me as a child. You will need your men. I will leave my cohorts with you to aid you, and find my way on my own."
Starcape: "Alarm! Bulls approaching!"
And indeed, through the mist, a mass of Bulls marched onto the field.
Standard bearer: "Sir, they vastly outnumber us. I'd say at least two to one."
Cales: "True enough, but we won't give up the river so easily. Every man dead is one less to attack our strongholds, and those can be defended effectively even with a small number of men. Besides, there's no turning back now that we've brought these cannons all the way here, and they might just give us the edge we need."
Chieftain: "General, what's the situation?"
General: "A host of imperials commanded by Sir Knight-Marshal Cales have appeared to defend the river. Our men are ready. The queen got away, but this is a good opportunity to bleed our enemies dry."
Chieftain: "Give the sign to attack. Leave no enemy alive."
Bodyguard: "Hey, who are those?"
Standard bearer: "Stay on your guard. They may not look hostile, but..."
Miranda Oneshot: "Greetings, Sir Cales. My people, the Dwellers, will aid you on this day. Open conflict is upon us and we can't choose to remain in the shadows forever."
Cales: "You get right down to business! If what I've heard is correct I have reasons to doubt you, but whatever crimes your people may have committed lay dormant in the past, and only a fool could deny help in this late hour."
Miranda: "Good to hear. My people will hold the left flank for you. There'll be plenty of time to talk afterwards."
And so, both armies prepared for combat.
Line-ups:
The Dwellers [taken by theblackdog]
Ranger-mounted Kaadus stood ready to charge forward behind a giant. Next to them crossbow-armed Wolfpack Rangers silently awaited orders from their leader Van.
Miranda Oneshot (Hero) and her Ranger elite were backed up by a Healer. Chewblaccand and his tribe of Furbeasts stood at their side with a spear carrier, supposed to supply them, behind them.
Imperials [Taken by Ross_Varn]
The stationary artillery was manned by four gunners recruited from the populace. Ammo and even swords stood near, but these men weren't relied on to do much other than to fire these still rather unreliable, but possibly devastating weapons of war.
Elite swordsmen guarded the flank and slower pikemen formed the center. The Imperial forces were backed up by Sharlena and the Purple Mage.
The standard bearer and sergeant stood behind the main body of the army: the regular swordsmen. Sir Cales (Hero) and his bodyguards were positioned in between both armies, standing on the road so he could have a good overview of the battle.
The Bulls [Taken by Olothontor]
As usual axemen guarded the flanks of the less mobile phalanx. The Chieftain who'd chased Queen Lara had now been picked to lead them.
On the other side a minor chief guarded the side of the phalanx with the rest of his men.
The general chose to lead the main battle line - the phalanx - into battle from the right side of the line.
Heavies fell in behind the main body of the army, and behind them crossbowmen stood.
The rearguard of the army was formed by Icons, a bullbeast, and of course their great chieftain (Hero), who had united the many tribes into a well-oiled war machine, himself.
Overview:
The Starcapes manning the small lookout towers, though not of decisive tactical value, shouldn't be forgotten either.
Further information will be sent once you sign up... first people to post have dibs, as always. Do specify which army you want tho.
If you're serious about participating a small faction with a side objective could be doable tho. Or an idea of your own if you have one if it's good.
Pictures will follow soon, as will faction and objective information for the secret factions. I'll roll some dice to see who gets which.
