Fire in the Sand: The Siege of Rhodokia. A Calradian Rennaissance Roleplay

[zollum]

I had been enjoying a short stay at Jamiche castle when the war started at this point the King was certain of a diplomatic resolution with the sarranids.
I was coming back from a hunt with the Count Gerluchs when the guards informed us of the large sarranid army which was approaching from the east. It was obvious that the guard had overestimated enemy
numbers which were more along the 1500 mark. Me and the count Gerluchs went to the hall to debate whether or not to attack this army we had only
1000 men but had the advantage of terrain and were going to be on the defensive.
"If this goes badly Jamiche will be forfeit" stated the count
"I have never lost a battle Gerluchs" I said in response
" what do you say we do?"
" hold that ridge there it will slow their cavalry down enough that the infantry will catch up and both will be severely thinned by our
crossbows before they come into melee range"
"what about that flat part of land there to our left flank??"
"I shall have our riders there and any who attack will be at least slowed down"
" hmm I still have my doubts but it sounds fine enough"
So the 1000 men of the count marched out to their designated positions and got ready to repulse the invaders. The Sarranids acted as expected
and assaulted with their riders first which along with the first wave of infantry was destroyed. But instead of continuing up into melee range they retreated and brought up
their gonne men who fired volleys into our spearline until we were forced to send our riders round the side to deal with them but they had set traps during the first wave.
Nails pierced the skin under the hooves of horses the riders behind had too much momentum to stop so they all got forced into one small space then the gonne men turned and started
firing into them they broke and ran back to join the main body of troops. I was forced to send spear and crossbow to hold the flat land
on the left flank. Their infantry was amassing for another assault the line was thin now but behind us I saw Count Matheas
he had seen the fighting and was only a short march away. Something was worrying though he was wheeling his soldiers around.
He wasnt going to help. He had saw yet he had betreyd us. The thin line was left to face all the approaching infantry alone.
Our crossbows fired volley after volley into them to little effect. It was left to our spear men to stop them not a single Sarranid
was breaking through. I chose this moment to look to my left to see they were breaking through.
Count Gerluchs was calling for a retreat I agreed. Troops started to pull away in an orderly fashion but then they saw the large cannon approaching them from the left and all semblance of
order was lost. They broke and ran my horse was hit by a stray bullet. I got up and ran. I only turned away from Jamiche once
but only one look showed me that their cavalry was attacking the stragglers of this rout. I was among them and as I saw a mamluke bearing
down on me my only thoughts were of how Matheas had betrayed all of us.

 

[Slayton]

Name: Slayton
Age: 27
Faction(if any): Rhodok
Occupation/Rank: Member of a secret Rhodok guild, Leader of platoon of Pikemen in Rhodok army
Weapons: Glaive, Dagger
Armor: Surcoat Over Mail, Kettle Helmet, Leather Boots and Gloves
Description: Tall muscular with a goatee and well cut hair but with strange markings on his right arm.
Bio: Slayton grew up a hard life being raised only by his father. At a very young age he was tought how to fight and soon everyone wanted to see him fight in arenas due to his skill. Now with all his winning he has bought himself a rank in the army and good weapons. The dagger, though, is from a secret rhodok society that he received upon membership.

 

[Slayton]

Slayton and his men served under Count Tredian's banner and were garrisoned in Yalen when news broke out of the war. Of course the order knew about it; they usually caused stuff like this and the King got blamed. But this time it was actually the King. It matters not though, for the Gonnes of the Sarranids could be outshot by crossbows and the Mamlukes easily taken off their horses. Or so the Order thought.

"ATTENTION!!!" shouted Slayton at his small group of soldiers "Today, men, we are to march south to the area of Grunwalder Castle where all the Great Lords are assembling to meet the Sarranid 'threat'. The skirmish outside of Jamiche was a bad start for a war but those were poorly trained garrison soldiers! When the enemy sees our discipline and feels our steel they will know it was a mistake to declare war on us!!! Now, FORWARD MARCH!!!!!!!"

Slayton knew his speach made it sound easier than the threat really was but he had to get he men's hopes up before they heard of more disasters caused by the Sarranids. He knew what was really going to happen. So did The Order.

 

[zollum]

When I awoke I was in a dungeon and from the heraldry the guards wore I could tell that this was Sharwa castle belonging to
Emir Mundhalir.It was apparent that the mamluke had only been using a mace and I had only been knocked out.In the cell also
there was only a few bandits who had been "lucky" enough to be taken prisoner here.They fed us once a day which was better than
what I heard Rhodoks gave them. Even though it was only bread and a bit of water. I decided to talk with the other prisoners one of them was also a Nord who had somehow made it here
the other was a khergit tribesman from peshmi. When I asked him how he ended up here he cahnged the subject to a rumor he had heard a while ago
that the Khergits were planning a surprise attack on the Sarranids. They were no longer my concern but the Rhodoks made a mistake
leaving me to die. The always present cultural differences would mean that few would try to stop this war. But escape was first.
My luck was changing after a few days imprisonment they announced that they would send us to work in the fields of Tazjunat.
A clever strategy now all the young men could be sent to war and still be fed.
When we arrived the farmers looked less than happy to see us. I wondered why perhaps it was the Sarranids opinion of all foreigners
They were hostile and decided to give us the job of pulling stumps with shovels while a guard watched.
We had been working only a very short time when one of the farmers came and said the old Khergit man and Nord woman joke.
Only two heads looked mine and the tribesmans.
"get to work scum" said the farmer. I looked at the khergit and the plan was clear I brought the shovel up so I held it in both hands
while the tribesman did likewise with the guard I used one hand to bring it round into the head of the farmer.
The guard got one shot off which was not planned but luck was still with me. It misfired and exploded in his face
blinding him for long enough for my companion to do as I had. We had very little time before the other guards
came .I took the guards blade while the khergit kept his shovel and took the guards water gourd.
And we ran into the desert.

***

I was lucky enough to find an oasis well away from Tazjunat I and who I discovered to be Jochi decided to spend the night there.
Our one hope of not dying in the desert was that the Khergit raiders arrived and noticed us.
Lady luck had been kind to me.

 

[A_Mustang]

Altan nodded as his men gathered around him, interested faces as the tempo of the next few months was to be made aware to them. Would there be raiding the rich men's caravans and giving to the peasants, or for sheer profit? Would they burn villages, take prisoners, go on a campaign of orgy and rape? Or would they merely steal, from whomever they could, taking ready material and letting the peasants recover after their passing?

Altan smiled, looked around him, and begin. "My fellows... It seems to me, in the wake of our most great Khanate's and the other kingdom's purchase of fire-cannon at such great cost, that the Sarranid Sultanate has too much riches for itself. Perhaps it could divulge some of it's so great wealth to us, poor presents of the steppe, eh?" The men remained unimpassioned. Not even the thickest among them had not realized they where going to raid the Sultanate, in part because none of them where really thick-headed. Atlan quickly embarked on a quick refresher course about the Sultanate: what they used as weapons, how they used them, terrain features, caravan and army routes through the desert, the like. Most men paid close enough attention, because they knew that their lives depended on such information should they be separated from the group. Atlan noticed that Stanislav had made his way back... now was the time to go full out on what he really intended to do.

He looked down, hand resting on the pommel of his sword. "Men, fellow steppe brothers and sisters, raiders of the east... the Sarranid Sultanate is our sworn enemy." He looked up, men with frozen faces of steel as they did not know how to reply. He had always declared war and pillaging as 'just business as a steppe raider'; it was never personal. Now it would be, as Altan Uruk Kashiktan hated the Sarranids as a state. "This is not a raiding campaign for the mere sake of raiding: we fight to protect the steppe and our people from the invasion and warmongering of the Sarranid Sultanate. Most of you will say, 'How have they threatened us?" other however, will remember, days pass and bygone where Khergit and Sarranid fought, where the blood of our brothers drained into the steppe to keep our land free from the invading Sarranids. We are enemies, with oaths sworn in the blood of our ancestors and our borders, which will only be destroyed by the death of either us or them... how will you're families live under the rule of the sultan? Make no mistake: Rhodokia is but the beginning. Once the Hill-men are pacified, the Sultanate will turn on us, and Vaegiria next! They will not rest until we are all under their heel, for they believe that with their new weapons they can pacify Calradia and put us all under their rule!" He lifted his blade, stalking about like a caged wolf. "So, I say, why not oppose them now? Why let them burn Rhodokia to the ground in the feeble hopes that they will be satisfied? While their armies attempt to fight the Rhodoks, let us burn their lands behind their backs, to destroy their will and capacity to fight before they meet the armies of our kingdom on the open field. Let us give the Sultanate a taste of what war is really like." He stood, energy expended from his speech, and said these final words. "Children and mothers with child are will be spared. Everyone else is to be put to the sword, and everything we cannot take we destroy; but we shall not burn the buildings of the villages, as that will buy us time. Make ready to move as soon as the last light of the sun vanishes." He left to take care of his horse and weapons, and his men did likewise.

That night he and his band galloped quietly across the border and into the deserts of the Sultanate.

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It was early morning in the quiet village of Uzgha; far away from war, at peace. Aflah and his wife Sukayna were working in the fields, bent over the irrigated fields; they where newly wed, and well on their way to starting a new family of there own. Aflah quietly praised God that he had been lucky enough to marry the most beautiful woman in the village. How many other men where envious of his marriage to such a intelligent and beautiful woman! he had such high hopes for them; he would build a large and prosperous family out of the barren sands that where his homeland. Then he heard the thunder of horsemen in the air. It must be the Emir's tax collector, here to ransom their land for gold again... he stood up to get a better view.

Sukayna looked as her loving husband stood up to see whom came. She didn't really care; they had enough money to pay their taxes in gold.

Whissss.. Theck!

She screamed when a black feathered arrow exploded from her husband's throat. She screamed again when a blacked haired Khergit youth, mounted and armored,  appeared behind her and grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the rest of the band. "What do you think of this one?" He yelled harshly "Should i keep her?" Hoots and hollers rose out of the band, and a gruff female voice of one of the raiders barked out: "She's a soft B*****, that one! Kill her and leave the body for the birds!" Altan rode forward, band following. "I don't F***ing care if you kill her or not! If you want to keep her, tie her up here good... You can come get her later! Everyone! Move out and take the village!"

A tightly bound Sarranid woman lay in the sand, bitter tears baptizing the virgin sand.

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Later

Altan trotted away form the main street of the village, as screams followed him away: the bloodletting of innocent souls had not stopped, but he had grown bored of the slaughter. He could see one of his female raiders hack apart a peasant three times her size in the corner of his eye. A small house on the outskirts caught his attention, and, blood splatted on himself and Orion, he moved out to enjoy the labors of the sarrainds. He approached, dismounted with bloody sword draw, to the entrance of the hovel... A knife-wilding peasant charged him. He mercilessness hacked down the untrained man with his much longer blade, then stepped over the corpse to the hovel. His son, wielding a pitchfork, charged Altan from the side, but he too soon fell to a similar fate as his father.

He entered the hovel to see two women, one middle-aged and one on the cusp of womanhood, huddling over their flock of children. "Everyone out now!" He yelled, pointing his sword, still dripping with their kin's blood out the door. They where herded out with everyone else taken alive. The middle-aged woman was pregnant; the younger was pretty.

A few hours later, the children and pregnant women were each issued food and water for seven days, and sent off towards the nearest town. Only a midwife and man whom knew the way were spared, and the man had no hands nor manliness. Altan's men threw the bodies, along with the spare salt, in the irrigation canals and what grain they could not take.

Later that day they fell upon a caravan, killing and looting at will. One of his men, Jochi, went missing during the raid: truly a pity, but things like this happens in war. however, he was a new-comer to the raiding band, not yet owning armor, so he was not going to be sorely missed. They took their loot to the hideout, and where the foodstuffs would be stored, and other material sold over the black market to make it's way into the general market places such as Tulga and Halmar.

They crossed into Sarranid territory again, slipping under the guard of the castle and heading towards the village of Tazjunat. That evening, they approached a oasis to camp, near fresh water for their horses, when they met their lost man. He had escaped from working in the fields along with a Nord. As Altan's men rejoiced with their steppe borther, he dismounted and approached the nord. "Hail, I am Altan Uruk Kashiktan, leader of this Khergit band and the man you saved."

 

[Amman d Stazia]

The first messenger came back, a broad grin on his face.  The bridge was undefended.  A body of infantry were holding a ridge just beyond, that commanded the roads from both fords and bridge, but the first troops were safely on the Rhodok bank of the river.  The main body could move forward.

Sigurd flicked a disinterested hand to Marrina.  She was the only squad leader mounted - the others had glumly surrendered their beasts to be Sigurd's rapid-haul team, harnessed to his wagonload of shot and chemicals.  The four horses (Sigurd's own being the 4th) would allow him to deliver the missiles within a few minutes to any fighting.  And, he would make sure he sent a heavy escort with the cart...  approximately all his men: There was no way he would pass up their chance to get in some real fighting.  After all, it was the whole purpose of being a mercenary - do some fighting, plunder some rich bastards and lots of poor ****s, then waste the cash on Vaegir booze, Nord ass, and Khergit opium...

Marrina pointed her empty Gonne at the lead squad, and they stood, shouldered their pikes, and ambled lazily downhill in the direction of the bridge.  There was no need to hurry - The Vaegir and his company were still blocking the road three hundred paces ahead with their heavy fire-machines.  If Sigurd's men caught up too fast they would only be dragooned into helping haul the vast war machines through the ruts.
The other three squads followed, Sigurd's cartload of ammunition in their midst. 
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[zollum]

"No wonder he was so reluctant to say anything about his arrival in the dungeons of sharwa castle, has the Khanate decided to join the war on the Sarranids?
anyhow I am Olof Bjorneesen of Tihr and would you be able take me to the nearest Khergit town or village so I can contact the High Jarl"

 

[A_Mustang]

He sized up the Nordic man before of him; he was large, well muscled and would likely know is way about in a fight. And, nords loved to loot, or so he heard of old. Altan shook his head. "No, the Khergit Khanate has not declared open war against the Sarranid Sultanate. I, leader of this steppe band, take these actions of raiding upon myself and without any affiliation to my homeland. We could take you to Tulga if you wish; but after we take the village of Tazjunat by steel. We'll camp here tonight if it's safe; attack the village in the morning and slip under the guard of Sharwa castle by night. Can you ride?"

 

[zollum]

"good I shall attack Tazjunat with you and yes, I am an able rider."
Not affiliated with the Khanate another question came to mind
"Are you only attacking Sarranid targets?"

 

[A_Mustang]

Altan raised an eyebrow at the question. What did it matter? Perhaps the nord was of a village he had looted or raided awhile back. "At this time, yes, only the Sarranids are my target. We'll camp here tonight, and move in the morning." He barked to a rider, and a light grey steppe horse was brought forth. "We keep a few spares around in case of remounts and to carry supplies. This horse is named Feaith, and you may ride her from here to Tulga."

 

[zollum]

The khergits decided to teach me a method of being on horse back and using a bow it made no sense to me but Atlan insisted it had worked for generations
A whole evening and I still hadnt figured it out when we attack Tazjunat I would dismount to shoot because in reality this felt as if it wouldnt work.
We broke camp and headed for Tazjunat the next morning.

 

[A_Mustang]

Altan rolled over in his beddings and sat up. It was half-way through the dawn watch and soon light would be headed over the desert. He forced himself to sit up, and put on his helmet. Finally, after many seconds of yawning and doing nothing, he stood and slapped himself awake, and walked over to a nearby sleeping raider. He shook the man and said; "Saddle up, stepp brother." The raider moaned and rolled over. "Yes, Kashiktan Bahadur." Altan stood long seconds as the man dozed onward, asleep on dreams of wine and women. He caught the eye of a pair of sentries and smiled, whom blinked and put themselves firmly in place to respond to whatever their leader was about to do. He bent over, cupped his mouth and roared into the man's ear. "Saddle up, steppe brothers!" He stood and yelled to the camp. "Saddle up! We move in ten minutes, so you better be mounted by that time!" The sentinels as a few of the quicker witted raiders replied strongly. "Yes, Kashiktan Bahadur!" The men woke, slapped themselves awake and hurried about their duties.

Altan mounted Orion, and soon the troop was on it's way to the hills north of Tazjunat, from which they would attack as the light came.

 

[zollum]

The troop moved in, I counted around 50 or so although I could of sworn there were more last evening. Well wine does many things to your head I saddled up and moved forward with the rest of them some farmers were brave enough to stand up to us. If only they knew about Khergit bows. They were shot up before we had even come into range they retreated to their shacks and mud-brick houses. It would now be a mission of clearing the buildings I remembered Atlan reminding his men that Children and mothers with child are were to be spared. I approached the nearest house a man with a sickle slashed at me I brought my sabre into his side and dodged the blow. He fell and a red pool appeared around him. I heard a loud yell from the kitchen area and saw a woman holding a gonne which was raised at me. My cavalry sheild would do nothing so I decided to bargain my way out of this.
"I need only shout woman and many more raiders shall be here, give me your valuables and I will say that this house has been emptied."
" how do I know you wont betray me??"
I yelled the word in Khergit she shot but the innacurate gonne hit only my arm and raiders had already entered the mud house.

 

[Amman d Stazia]

Sigurd clapped his hands in glee.  The slope was littered with two or three score dead horses, and the Sarranid cavalry were hovering off to the right of the road, carefully out of crossbow range of the Rhodoks.  They were safe behind their big shields, and the glitter of cold light on spearpoints proclaimed that they had a strong presence of infantry ready to protect the crossbowmen.

The Pascha had taken a bloody nose, and the despised infantry - and mercenaries - were about to show the cavalry how it ought to be done.

The Rhodoks on their hilltop commanded both the main road that came from the bridge, and the lesser track which twisted up from the fords.  It had been a wise move to fight there, rather than split their few hundred to be overwhelmed at both ford and bridge.  The hill was steepish, and scattered with tree stumps and waist-high scrub.  For cavalry, it was a deathtrap.

Sigurd called out to Roth and Kanna, who had his two lead squads.  He left Kanna in charge briefly while he ran across to Ali, the Sarranid infantry commander who had paid for the special ammunition delivery.
The dark features of the Sarranid split into a grin as Sigurd approached.

"We have it under control!  The horses...  Unfortunate, an unnecessary loss.  But now, my command is to advance and take the hilltop.  We will have a tough fight, indeed, and great glory!"

Sigurd looked at Ali's 200 infantry.  Four squads were deployed ahead of the main line, manning the big, wheeled fire machines that could throw missiles twice the range of the longest crossbow, or at close range be loaded with barrels of pitch and oil, that would spew out as a spray of fire across 50 or 60 paces range...

The remaing 150 or so, all with long-barrelled Gonnes and Sarranid falchions, had formed a loose chain, ready to move forward when the big machines had begun the killing.

"Ali, they are nearly three times as many on that hill as you are.  I will make sure that we keep you supplied with plenty missiles, so that you can keep up a fast rate of fire.  My troop will form up behind yours to protect the ammunition.  Good luck!"

A series of breathy roars announced that the big machines had launched a salvo.  Sigurd watched as a single missile smashed down a board shield and sent a spray of blood into the air.  The other three missiles slammed into the ground, throwing up an impressive gout of debris but otherwise harmless.

The horses were left with three of his men who had been a bit sick over the previous days and might be a liability to their mates in a fight.

The cart would need to be hauled by hand from now....
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a short time later...
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The Pashca turned back from Ali, whose eyes burned with rage and shame.

"And you!  Mercenary Captain!  What are you doing here?  You are to guard the baggage!"

Sigurd sketched a bow, then indicated the wagon that his men were formed around,  "Eminence, we are escorting supplies of chemical and missiles to the front line.  Vital, as you said at the briefing, to protect our supplies."

The Pascha glared angrily at Sigurd, suspecting insolence.
"Your men can assist this infantry troop.  Guard their flanks against any counter attack.  And yes, supply them with chemicals, spare spear-points, whatever....  Make sure you clear the roads too, for the cavalry to pass through and pursue"

With that, he was gone, a dozen brilliantly attired heralds and pages in his wake.

Ali was snarling orders at his men, nobly refraining from repeating any of the Pascha's invective about blind gunners and handless milkmaids who wouldn't know a sword from a spoon....

 

[A_Mustang]

Altan's men poured out of the hills, killing the few sentries with deadly ease and quickly routing the mob of villagers whom rallied to oppose them. Some villagers choose to flee, only to be shot down by Khergit riders as they where burdened down by their belongings and valuables. Most of the others hide in their hovels hoping to escape the wrath of the khergits, but it was in vain. While a dismounted Khergit was not as well off in the fight as a mounted one, the peasants where not skilled enough to exploit this advantage in any real manner. He saw Olof enter a house and a gunshot soon after, but the raiders piled in the screams of a woman being raped where heard soon enough. He shot a arrow into a nearby house's window, killing a peasant whom threatened anyone about the enter the doorway with a two-handed wood-axe. He dismounted and entered, butchered a few men, then dragged out the children to the people pool, killing a mother whom attempted to oppose him. The elder sisters cooperated, and fortunately for them they looked young enough for Altan to consider children. Some of raiders whom tired of killing or rape quickly showed up to relieve their leader of the boring task of guarding the children, and fifteen riders maintained a steady perimiter around the village, killing or catching those whom fled. The rest killed and felt pleasure, but saved plenty of woman for their steppe brothers out on the perimeter.

Altan walked back to Orion, and rode out to the house with the gunshot, and entered to find a wounded Olof.

隐藏

A Sarranid woman was being mated to a pair of raiders in the K-9 fashion, One on top and the other with a saber to her throat. A third, a large Vaegir with a two handed axe, ushered to children out the back door, after many oaths of ill befalling them should the woman resist. The raider on top was in the finishing process, and soon let lose his flood into the woman. The raiders then switched and continued.

He noticed the Gonne on the floor, and then yelled out the door "Kharazikten! I have a wounded for you to tend to!" The old raider stormed towards him in a fury, ready to beat the idiot raider whom fell to a peasant's pick-fork. "Which one of you misbegotten sons-of-steppe-nags got hurt by one of these mule-***** peasants? I'll tear you to pieces!" Altan laughed and yelled back. "Twas not one of our boys, twas the nord! Olof, you where shot? And by whom? Surely not this mangy *****!" As Kharazikten walked in calmly, he lifted the Gonne and began to examine it.

 

[zollum]

"I am afraid so, she drew a gun and shot she must have retrieved it from one of the sentries"
The man who treated me didnt look happy to have to treat anyone, probably hoping for a quick and painless victory.
" I heard that a whole 10,000 strong army of Nords where defeated by housewives." he joked or at least I hoped so. The bandage had some sort of strange herb on it which completely took away the pain. I noted to ask him for the name of this herb and where to find it. The raiders continued their strange ritual still in my sight it confused me and I wondered how they could take pleasure while others where watching.
"Has this raid brought us much loot Atlan?"

 

[A_Mustang]

Altan shrugged at the loot question. "I have yet to see if we have finished clearing all of the houses, then we might start to collect the loot. First we must attend to the young, whose's time is yet to come." He turned, and made to leave. "You two, once finished, don't kill her. Guard her, and have her collect the things required to work these new 'gonnes'. If you cooperate, *****, i'll let you go free, alive, with you're spawn. Consider that a blessing." He left, gonne resting on the table.

He quickly mounted Orion and checked the status: They had just finished clearing the village, and the men had all been butchered. The corpses of those and their fallow wives where already being flung into the irrigation system, poisoning the crops. The men on the perimeter had changed and begun to take their fill of the women, with complete disregard for discretion and in plain sight within the buildings. Those who already had their fill begun to round up livestock and pile valuables; foodstuffs, wine, linen, silk and velvet. Iron, flax, other raw materials, a bounty that would see use in the crafts-shops of the Khanate soon enough.

He went off to find his own share of the booty.

 

[zollum]

Gonne equipment?. Interesting this further shows he doesnt work for the Khanate, if he did he would already have gonnes. I hoped these Khergits didnt try use them from horseback as they did with bows.
I headed for the town hall the elders always had the most cash swindled off any passing adventurer. It appeared a fair number of the Khergits were performing the strange act I had seen earlier. I walked through the double door into the hall and found little other than simple knick-knacks. just as I turned to leave I heard a blade leave a scabbard I suddenly remembered that no elders had been outside. I drew my sword also but my arm was too wounded to use a sheild this would be interesting.
He came straight towards me blade above his head I blocked upwards and he suddenly changed the direction of his attack and forced me to roll away he struck down and I jumped up and ran him through I headed to where he had been and saw what must be the most expensive thing in the town. A jewel encrusted blade, it must have belonged to the lord of the town he would be extremely annoyed when he found it missing. I headed out to join the rest of the raiders.

 

[Amman d Stazia]

The Rhodoks did not loose.  Ali urged his men on, calling at them to march faster and close the range.  The Rhodok crossbows had about 150 paces greater range than his mens' fire weapons. 

They were just outside that range when the big shields suddenly dropped, and helmeted crossbowmen took aim at the Sarranids.

The volley was devastating.  The crossbow bolts felled a score of the attackers at least, and then the bowmen disappeared behind their shields again.

"Forward! Faster!" Screamed the Sarranid officers. 

Sigurd, who had kept his men twenty paces behind the Sarranids, glanced left and right.  One man hauling the cart was dead, a bolt in his eye.  The rest of the company were unhurt.  The continued their steady advance as Ali's Sarranid infantry forced themselves into a labouring run, stumbling through the shrubs, their already loose formation shaking itself out ever more.

Then they were in range.  The Sarranids split into four companies, two of them moving forward fast on the flanks whilst the other two, in the centre, stepped slowly and carefully, their fire weapons held ready and their eyes on the big shields.
Then the flank companies halted, and the men knelt or crouched among the bushes and rough ground to take aim.  The centre companies then assumed the faster pace.

Sigurd was grinning broadly as he watched, his long powerful legs swinging him up the slope.  The infantry tactic was as old as the hills but with the gonne, it became so much more deadly...

The Rhodoks dropped their shields, and the crossbows, reloaded now, appeared.  There were no shouts of command.  The Sarranids simply pulled their levers, and the new-model long Gonne disappeared in a gout of dirty smoke, punctuated by a spear of red fire.
The thunderclap of nearly a hundred Gonnes hammered against Sigurd's ears.

The centre companies, who had thrown themselves flat the moment the shields moved, did not lose one man this time.  Sigurd saw a maelstrom of tangled bodies and shattered shields being flung back from the Rhodok position.  At just over half their maximum range, the new model, long-barrelled Gonne was a destructive and relatively accurate weapon.

The Sarranids reloaded feverishly as the Rhodoks disappeared behind their shields to recover from the slaughter and shock.

 

[Amman d Stazia]

Sigurd spotted a Rhodok arse sticking up from behind a shield, and grinned cruelly.
He took two long paces to a stunted tree, and rested his own Gonne in the fork of a branch, aiming carefully.

He slowly tightened the trigger, breathing out gently as he did-

The explosion tore half the mercenary's head away, hot scraps of his own weapon killing him in the blink of an eye.