Black Orc Assault

cy 4862 Sepos 22nd - 23ed

The fortress is nothing more than a small stone garrison built almost a century ago, Mazlan, the old Myrid warrior, stands at the gates of it to summon the leader. Blistar is of similar age to most of the warriors within the fortress but he is annoyed that Mazlan is leading potential spies into their midst.

"They don’t look much like orc spies to me!" Mazlan qips, "besides – you need to look carefully at them Blistar."

Eventually Blistar opens the gates and the party move inside. They notice no women or children are present; every warrior is ancient, eighty years old being the youngest. They are joined by a few newcomers, a Marraq called Jindra Dar, a pretty female warrior called Indermere, an elven assassin called Kun Zum La and a Sword Cultist called Albaron.

But all eyes are on the three people who went to – and survived – the Promethian test on the Isle of Endegar. Damula, Kuraluk and Taryn all receive more scrutiny than most – somehow these old soldiers have seen the three friends before.

They are led to a large covered area with benches and tables and are fed broth and fresh meat and water. The atmosphere is relaxed considering the orc army that is almost upon them, these men seem to know no fear. It is soon agreed by the party that they will help the Myrids fend off the orcs for a chance to shelter during the cruel winter months. Blistar and Mazlan are careful with any information and Taryn senses the two men are keeping much from them.

Later that afternoon Mazlan takes them underground to meet Zend, a grumpy quartermaster who sits at a hatch with a cavernous stores behind him. At first glance the underground arsenal could supply an army forty times the size of the Myrids and Zend proves difficult as the party ask for a stockpile of arrows.

"If you can hit the apple I’ll give you arrows," he says and points to a long corridor under the fortress with an apple suspended from a rope more than two hundred paces distant. None of the party – even the Marraq or Taymar – come even close to hitting the apple. Zend sneers at them and refuses to give them arrows.

Kuraluk commands the surly quartermaster who eventually relents and provides them with enough arrows for the battle.

Next morning the tension within the party is acute; the orc army rumbles closer yet within the Myrid ranks there is a quiet deployment as the old hands ready themselves with an air of indifference, as if they had done it hundreds of times before. Mazlan is with them all the way and they find a suitable wall to defend. The massive orc force, with Bretonian canons and siege towers, fills the valley like an angry black sea. They have never seen anything so frightening.

The bombardment of canon has already begun but the orcs are poor artillerists, their shots fly wide and short causing more damage to their own side than to the walls themselves. As the orcs reach bow range the Myrids – and the party – start their attack. Mazlan offers them advice on how to stand and shoot from battlements and the initial stages are taken with archery. Each member of the party has good success as they rain death onto the orcs but the lumbering siege towers – many alight from a barrage of fire arrows – get closer. Grappling hooks are easily disposed of but the sheer numbers mean that shortly the orcs will start to find themselves on the walls.

Mazlan belies his age as the first black orc shows his head above the stone. His sword is accurate and fast as he decapitates the orc and a cheer goes up all around the fortress. The party stay close as more orcs fill the gaps between them. In ones and twos they are met by deadly force from the defenders, Taymar and Mevik in particular cause heavy losses – Taymar with Sagar’s longsword and Mevik with the deadly staff of Azael.

Kun Zum La crouches in the shadows as the fighting erupts around him; every now and then he spits a deadly dart into the throat of an unsuspecting orc or opens the throat of another with his dagger. Indermere and Albaron fight back-to-back and slay any orc that gets close – always under the watchful eye of Mazlan who is ever at hand to rip into the orcs if necessary.

On the opposite wall Mevik spots more heated fighting as a siege tower is almost at the wall. He dimension doors with Taymar and Taryn at his flanks and the three men carve into the orcs to the great shock of the Myrids present.

Meanwhile Mazlan – equally shocked by the move – realises that himself and Damula are the only two close enough to repel a burning siege tower as the drawbridge clatters down onto the battlements. Orcs ten deep and five wide attack noisily and the two are left in the path of the screaming humanoids. Damula slashes two dead instantly but the old Mazlan is a terrifying sight in full flow. One after the other he cuts the orcs down creating a barrier of dead bodies until Albaron, Indermere and Kuraluk are able to plug the gap.

Kuraluk takes a few minor cuts, as does the feisty Indermere, but nothing that cure light wounds or her natural healing cannot handle. As the orcs spill out in larger numbers Kun Zum La is able to pick of several from the shadows, able to shrink back unseen for the moment.

Mevik returns his two companions to his friends and their intervention is timely. The orc assault on the wall falters and when Taymar – dressed in full plate and virtually untouchable by any orc weapon – wades in ferociously to carve the last remaining orcs to pieces.

The great wave of orcs recede and the cheering echoes round the fortress. The party waste no time and launch arrows into the retreat whilst the Myrids are calmer and see to their wounded. To Taryn’s utter astonishment nearly a quarter of the orc forc lies dead or dying at the foot of the fortress; the Myrids around him have suffered nothing more than a few cuts and bruises.

Mazlan smiles and ensures the party are well before heading off to see the leader Blistar. "This is just the start," he tells them, "get some rest if you can and tend to your wounds…they’ll be back soon even stronger."

Kuraluk prays to Jarik in a shrine he has built on the wall. The rest of the party replenish arrows or take in food and water. The atmosphere is buoyant all around them as the exhilaration of battle is tangible.

The Bretonian canons are burnt by the orcs and more siege towers are brought to bear. Two hours after the initial attack the orcs come again.

This time their attack is more concentrated and sustained as if the first was just to test the strength of the defenders. There seem to be more siege towers and initially the pattern is the same; orcs gain a foothold before they can deploy heavier forces on the walls from the siege towers.

Taymar and Mevik are the stalwarts as the siege tower lands. The two experienced warriors bear the brunt of the first orc assault, Mevik’s staff crushes any resistance and Taymar uses his shield to push orcs off the walls. Indermere is cut several times in the chest and the abdomen, as is Albaron and they are forced back but with nowhere to hide they resort to desperate defending.

Taymar spots Kuraluk hit badly in the leg and rushes over to protect the priest, seeing off a couple of tenacious orcs in the process. In the midst of the burning siege tower is Mazlan hacking orcs to pieces. Taryn yells to the old man as the tower begins to collapse and Mazlan somersaults back onto the walls to be greeted by cheers from his Myrid colleagues.

Damula hears a rough orc shout; "Get the bitch!"

An agile orc is in front of her with two scimitars and the skill to use them. She fends off a backhanded swipe but Indermere is less fortunate and takes a bad hit to the leg, a wound bad enough to force her down onto the floor.

Kun Zum La trades blows with a persistent orc and only the intervention of Taymar on his way to the priest slays the orc he trades blows with.

Taryn fights bravely but knows the orcs have another ace up their sleeve, his instinct tells him that they are keeping the walls busy so as to bring something else up into the fight. The concentrated attack on his friends shows no sign of letting up, the blood of his companions is everywhere as the orcs inflict a succession of small wounds, minor by themselves but these wounds are grinding them down.

Indermere and Albaron are bleeding. Their arms ache and the energy-sapping wounds have forced them against the wall with orcs everywhere. The priest Kuraluk staggers behind the protection of Taymar’s shield and he too carries several bad wounds. Damula is also cut but her wounds are not enough to slow her significantly.

Taryn is still strong but at the back of his mind is the question what next? He senses the orcs have an ace up their sleeve; the young ranger can now see Myrid casualties, several old men cough their insides out through their mouths or have wounds that will surely be fatal.

Taryn knows the orcs are winning…