Days after the liberation of the Kathar prison by the Viridian Knights, their counterparts in the Order of Bloodcast descended upon the supply town of Alynaneas with weapons in hand and a plan in mind. Consisting of Lazarus Lupenzi, Takashi Homura, Alzena Olsen, Kasamir Archleht, Ivar Lupenzi, Alexander Donsly, Philippe du L’Angelier and Mort Vanderberg, the Bloodcast Knights set camp a few miles south of Alynaneas with the purpose of forming their overall plan of approach. It was decided upon by popular opinion that given the small number of knights that there were present in comparison to the Kathar Guards and occupying the village, guerilla tactics would be the most cunning strategy to adopt. While Lazarus opted to take leadership of the group, his inexperience with leadership led to a couple of problems within the first few hours. Against the wishes of his fellow Knights, he ordered the group to split into two which many disagreed with but eventually succumbed to, and secondly, despite having suffered an injury in the attack on Fort Threlwar, Lazarus also permitted the injured Ivar Lupenzi to assist in the capture of the supply town. Despite both disagreements between the members of the Bloodcast Knights, they continued with their plan as outlined, though now in two groups: one led by Lazarus and the other led by Mort Vanderberg; a 45 year old from Anglia with a modicum of experience in front line leadership. Group one, which consisted of Lazarus Lupenzi, Takashi Homura, Ivar Lupenzi and Kasamir Archleht, approached the outskirts of the town and hid amongst the jungle trees and plant life to enact their ploy. The collective set about engaging in different tasks. Ivar Lupenzi and Takashi Homura planned to take point in plotting the patrol routes in and around the town-- gaining a rough estimation as to how great the occupying Kathar force was. Both men were reasonably successful, remaining out of sight, noting at the bare minimum of twenty five Shenath soldiers and two Saivalle Officers within the settlement, and three major patrol routes comprising of four soldiers per patrol. The information was quickly relayed back to Lazarus Lupenzi, who opted to wait for nightfall before initiating their first attack. Meanwhile after being relayed the information that Ivar and Takashi had documented, the second group--comprised of Alexander Donsly, Philippe du Langelier, Alenza Olsen and led by Mort Vanderberg--found their way to a tactical area to the North side of the town. Each expected the first patrol routes to begin their nocturnal reconnoitre and swiftly acted upon it. The first to strike was Lazarus’s group who, as the first Kathar squadron rounded a corner within the town, found themselves overpowered by the four Bloodcast Knights and were gagged and stabbed to death with their bodies dragged from sight and dumped into a nearby decrepit looking well. Despite Lazarus, Takashi and Ivar performing well, and Kasamir despite being reasonably combat adept, Kasamir had missed the vitals of the fiercer-looking Shenath soldier who managed to utter a final shriek as he plummeted down the well, alerting the actively patrolling members of the Kathar force in the Town to the group’s presence. Meanwhile, the second group utilised Kasamir’s mistake as a distraction. As soon as the shriek eliminated through the quiet town, Mort ordered an attack. Without any hesitation and to the surprise of Mort himself, Philippe du Langelier swiftly cut down all four Shenath spellslingers and subsequently charged into a nearby barracks with Alexander Donsly, Alenza Olsen and Mort following suit, which caught the frantic and panicked Kathar force off-guard. Many were slaughtered while still trying to slip into armor, while others found their deaths at the hands of Mort Vanderberg as they attempted to flee, one of which was clearly the leader of the force occupying the town, signified by his regalia upon his uniform and the decorated golden sabre that laid to the side of his corpse. As the battle died down, Mort would take the sabre as a trophy, a token of his deeds which could serve as an expensive bragging right or perhaps sold in Regalia for a decent score. Back to the well however, Lazarus’s group was still preoccupied with Kathar reinforcements, albeit them being only a token force given Mort and Philippe’s efforts on the other side of town. The Knights were able to overpower the force thanks to their respective combat prowess, but in the midst of the conflict, Kasamir overreached a little too much. Cocky in his ability, he ended up being tripped by a particularly agile Shenath scout, taking a sword through his shoulder, blunt force trauma from being stomped upon and suffered a broken ankle as a result. No doubt he would find it difficult to walk for at least a week. Reinforcements soon arrived in the form of Mort and his group though little was left for them to deal with. As the remaining seven non-incapacitated Knights surrounded the final five Shenath warriors, a bolt of lightning shot from the fingers of the Saivale Patrol Officer at the back of the Kathar group and struck Alexander Donsly in the right arm. The electricity singed his skin, leaving him with permanent scarring all the way up his right arm and to his shoulder. He dropped to the floor, convulsing and foaming at the mouth. Takashi, Philippe and Lazarus himself finished off the final remaining Kathar and thus the supply town was liberated. Altalar citizens resident to the town hurried to the scene. While at first chiding the Ailor that were inferior to them, they saw the value in what they had done and mercifully went to assist the wounded. Kasamir’s internal bleeding was stopped by a particularly skilled light mage but naught could be done for his broken ankle. He’d need to walk with crutches for at least two weeks for his wound to heal. The blunt force trauma had also caused extensive bruising and left his body sensitive to the touch. Alexander’s wounds were far more severe. The medics were able to save his arm from being amputated, albeit the scarring seemed as if it would never truly go away, but the lightning shock had darted up through his arm and into his brain, leaving him incapacitated for the foreseeable future. The rest of the Knights were left waiting as the Altalar assessed Alexander’s physical stability, hours passing in the meantime. They made themselves useful by assisting in clearing the bodies from the town and dumping them into shallow graves within the jungle. The Knights explained the ongoing conflict to the Altalar elders of the town and the Regalian Pact between the Elven Princes and the Nobility of Regalia. They reluctantly agreed to assist by supplying the Ailor forces at Fort Threlwar with half the supplies the Kathar were forcefully using the town for. It was then that Lazarus was approached by the light mage tending to Alexander: they insisted that Alexander had been hit with a void curse which would render him comatose for a week, but ultimately would wake him and be back to his old self. Ivar teased Lazarus with fairytale rumors of a kiss waking the ‘sleeping beauty’ but suffered a smack across the face from his playfulness. After collecting their things, the Bloodcast Knights regrouped at Fort Threlwar with the Regalian Forces, informing the visiting Imperial Marshal William Howlester of their victory to which they were commended for. After all, in contrast to the Viridians the week before, the Bloodcast suffered little injury bar two members taking wounds and had successfully acquired the supply town for Regalian Forces. Mort was awarded the sword that he had captured as a prize and Philippe earned a token handshake from the Howlester General himself, a gesture of respect and praise in its own right given the General’s tendency to avoid contact with others. No doubt the Bloodcast and Viridian victories had made an impact on the war itself, the ramifications of which would soon be seen in the proceeding battle ahead as the Generals of Regalia prepared for one of their most crucial beginning large scale battles: The Siege of the City of Merkar’sarh. Spoiler: Rolls and Injuries Lazarus Lupenzi - 43 Ivar Lupenzi - 54 Philippe du LAngelier - 89 Minor reward, recognized and commended by Imperial Marshal. Mort Vanderberg - 97 Major reward, medal of commendation and Saivale gold decorated sabre rewarded. Alexander Donsly - 1 Extensive permanent lightning scarring on the right arm to the shoulder, comatose curse (1 week unplayable) Kasamir Archleht - 10 Extensive bruising, stabbed shoulder, internal bleeding, broken ankle (Crutches for two weeks In Game) Alzena Olsen - 59 Takashi Asahi Homura - 63
In the hallway of the Ravenstad Estate, a lone cripple could hear a commotion outside in the courtyard. Hobbling on the wooden crutches supporting his frame, Auguste would look to the window to see what was the matter. News of the Primae, or perhaps his former mentor? Such remarks were left to himself, too optimistic to deserve the graces of audible speech. He made his way slowly towards the main hall, where a few Viridians kept as a security retinue were present. Giving a nod in greeting, he inquired about the gathering outside. ... Upon hearing the answer, the Ravenstad much akin to his mentor grew red, some would say of embarrassment, others of pride. Yet neither could truly explain the perpetual rivalry between the Viridians and the Bloodcasts. Pivoting around, the knight hobbled to face his familiar foe in the stairs, making an off handed comment about "Upjumped mercenaries and honorless dogs" as he made the challenging ascent to his chamber.
Fenic raised up a mug, cheering with the tavern's patrons, "Let's toast in celebration to their victory. We're gonna beat those bloody Kathar dogs down in the next battle!"
Ardige Viduggla gave a firm nod as he received the report on the events from the front. He moved to his personal map and knocked down the gnarled black piece over the town, placing a simple white one in its place. Location liberated, though he gave a sigh. The leadership of the Kathar party had again been killed. It was as if none understood the value in a good captive...but he supposed in the dark of the night, in the flurry of the barracks, none had actually tried to spare the time at capturing. That had also not been their directive...and so ultimately, he firmly turned to look at the city and the island before walking away from the table.
From the cot in which he rested, Kasamir's forest-green hues stared upward with a dull intensity. They were unseeing, withdrawn and unfocused as the man replayed the events of the attack over and over in his mind's eye. His first real mission, his first kill; he never pretended to know what to expect, nor that he was entirely prepared for it, but he certainly didn't expect to come out of it like that. As if on cue, a sharp pang ran down his arm from his shoulder, eliciting a hissing gasp from him as he clenched his jaw. When the sensation returned to the throbbing ache he had grown accustomed to, he yet again recalled the confrontation, which remained with him as an eerily vivid memory. Even with his refined skill and form - the years of practice - his inexperience was shown quite clearly in how easily he was overcome. His overzealous strike, fueled by the blind desire to correct his previous mistake, nearly became his downfall. He grit his teeth once more, though not in pain this time. Again and again, he reviewed the event in his mind. Every movement, every parry, every exchange he scrutinized. Though he may have been beaten down and overcome this time, he was determined to learn from his mistakes. They were ultimately victorious, that's what matters. There would be another day. There would be another battle. There would be another chance to show his mettle. This, he told himself, over and over, as he silently prayed to be taken soon by sleep, where he wouldn't have to try so hard not to scream.
