- Location
- yorkshire
[X]Option 1: Continue East and meet up with Humberto to explore together.
The Objects of Power - A High Elf Warhammer Fantasy Quest
- Thread starter Fenderstat
- Start date
- Fantasy
- Location
- Temporally? Now.
[x]Option 2: Return to camp and venture out to the north.
Maximize searched area > Time with Humberto
Maximize searched area > Time with Humberto
Voting Closed.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Option 1 - 7 votes (wins)
Option 2 - 2 votes
Story to follow in the next few days.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Option 1 - 7 votes (wins)
Option 2 - 2 votes
Story to follow in the next few days.
Episode 72 - The Beastmen
Episode 72 - The Beastmen
Results from the last episode - Meet up with Humberto and explore together.
You departed to the west in order to meet with Humberto. As you moved through the jungle you observed the jungle darkening, it was an odd phenomenon. It was as if some parts of the jungle were completely devoid of light, while others only let thin rays shining down from the canopy.
As you walked you spoke with Abu Jarir bin Copher. Jarir was the mercenary captain of your dervishes. He was a tan skinned man in his mid thirties, with dark brown hair and a short beard. From what little he spoke you had uncovered he was a professional mercenary who had served almost everywhere in Araby.
Jarir had his dervishes flanking your column in an attempt to detect any potential ambushes. Despite the oppressive conditions of the jungle he didn't complain much either. You had no doubts that Jarir was a professional by trade, and the only time you would hear a complaint was if he wasn't paid on time.
By the end of the first day you made camp, you were grateful of the work which Humberto's party had made clearing the jungle ahead of you and compared to the distance you made on your previous ventures, it felt like you made three days progress in only one.
You spoke with Skoren who agreed to teach you Khazalid in exchange in teaching him some Eltharin. Skoren was handling the expedition well, his ironbreakers however not so much. The wet and damp of the jungle caused the heavily armoured dwarves constant discomfort and increased maintenance on their equipment to prevent rust. Further to that where the ground was soft they often sunk into it and sometimes had to be assisted out of their predicament due to their short height.
Still, you did your best not to laugh at them when you heard one of them curse loudly as they sunk into the ground and caught a few elves snickering at their misfortune. You warned your elves not to provoke the dwarves due to their incredibly short temper and keep their remarks to themselves.
Gutri on the other hand had not said a word to anyone since leaving El-Nasir's folly. Gutri was always the most hostile of his family from your previous dealings with him so it was probably better off he was not speaking anyway. You did your best to avoid him but wherever Skoren was, Gutri followed as his protector. He at least remained sober enough to perform that task.
You traded some words in each other's language before setting off to bed, deciding to skip your magical studies in favour of a good night's rest.
Some time later you were abruptly awoken by Sir Herron of Istor lightly shaking you on the shoulder.
"Princess wake up." he said urgently.
You groaned in protest, "what is it?"
"It's the human, Humberto. He is in danger." he replied.
You swung out of bed immediately. Sir Herron looked away red faced. You were still in your night-gown, a bare shouldered dress that was only slightly shorter than your camp dress, with your nightgown ending at the knees. Honestly you didn't see what the fuss was about as you had worn considerably less in your circus days. Judging by Sir Herron's reaction you thought it prudent to throw on a simple robe before venturing out from the tent. Looks like Telar was right, Sir Herron did fancy you after all.
You exited the tent, it was likely early morning but due to the thick canopy you could never really tell. You approached a group of people, you could see your translator Bakrat talking quickly in Tilean to a small group of Humberto's Rodelero. Some of them were injured.
"Bakrat. What is happening?" you asked.
"The beastmen. They ambushed Humberto's party, they carried him and others away. The rest were killed or scattered. They were trying to get to the camp to get reinforcements" Bakrat replied.
"How many beastmen attacked them?" you asked.
Bakrat relayed the question to the Rodelero. You recognised him as one of Humberto's lieutenants.
"Too many to count, he said it felt like hundreds." replied Bakrat.
"If it were hundreds none of them would have made it." said a voice in Reikspiel.
You turned your head and noticed Heinrich, the woodsman from the Empire, was present. You knew he was bi-lingual as he could understand Bakrat's Arabyan.
Heinrich looked like he wanted to talk, you nodded your head giving him permission to do so.
"Ask him what they looked like. Their heads, did they have horns?" asked Heinrich.
Bakrat relayed the information and the Rodelero replied. Nodding while he did so.
"Some, from what he saw. Most had none or small ones. A few had fully formed beast heads." said Bakrat.
"Any big ones? Bigger than us?" asked Henrich.
Bakrat relayed the information and the rodelero shook his head.
"Your thoughts Heinrich?" you asked in Reikspiel. You spoke this so the assembled dervishes and adventurers stood less chance of understanding you in case his reply invoked a panic.
"Sounds like mostly brays and ungors. Maybe a gor or two as well. So that's probably as good news as we will get. They are the weaker ones. Good at night and in an ambush but that's about it. The bigger they are and the more beast-like, the worst they get.
If they scattered 'Berto that means they couldn't have been too many, the fact these guys got to us is proof of that." said Heinrich.
"He said Humberto and others were captured, what will happen to them?" you asked.
"Taken back to the herdstone and sacrificed, then they will eat 'em." said Heinrich. His tone was very matter of fact. You recalled Heinrich saying he was from a place in the Empire called the Drakwald. Was the beastmen so commonplace in Heinrich's home that he could discuss such things so casually? How many of his friends and family had succumbed to this fate previously?
"How long do we have?" you asked.
"Not sure. Depends on how far away from the herdstone they are and what they do when they're there. Sometimes they just go straight for the killing. Othertimes they torture them and hold a big party, rutting and carrying on before they do it. We'll have to find the herdstone though, the beastmen are pretty hard to track and I'm no expert in the jungle by any means. I think one of the fellas in the group is a good jungle tracker though." said Heinrich.
"Do we have time to wait for reinforcements from the camp?" you asked.
Heinrich shrugged nonchalantly. "Like I said. Don't know. I do know there will be more of them at the herdstone but how many I am not sure. Sometimes it's a few dozen, other time it's hundreds. Worst case thousands. I can't say for sure." he replied.
"Bakrat. Ask him how far away they were ambushed? And his name." you said.
Bakrat did so and replied, "They had just settled in for the night. He thinks he was running for a three hours at least. His name is Antonio, he is one of Humberto's officers."
You considered your options. The base camp was about a day away, there you would be able to summon reinforcements to attempt a rescue from Ricardo and Telar. At least two hundred soldiers.
The beastmen were at an unknown location toward the west, tracking them would be hard but possible. The beastman's strength was unknown however based on what information you had the raiding party was made of weaker enemies who were heading back to a base which contained a larger force. It was possible that the beastfolk may be in the process of some sort of celebration which could be advantageous to you as well.
In terms of language you were not certain the beastman had the capacity to communicate with the captives but you could not be certain of that. Assuming they could, the beastmen would learn of your base and the potential for reinforcements, however they would not know that you were much closer than the base as Humberto had already left the basecamp before you returned and would not know you were already in the west.
You reviewed your forces. You had five dismounted Silver Helms including Sir Herron of Istor and Sindor, ten shadow warriors, five lothern seaguard, twenty dervishes, thirteen adventurers (two of which were wizards), ten ironbreakers and Skoren and Gutri Oakenshield. Plus about twelve supply train assistants.
In terms of reinforcements Ricardo would be coming no matter what. You were not in charge of the conquistatori so you could not advise them against it.
You needed a plan.
Was Humberto's life worth the risk of yours and your party? Should you wait for reinforcements before proceeding? Is waiting too long dooming Humberto to a grimm death, or by pursuing them would you be leading your own people into an ambush? How would the conquistatori react if their fearless leader was killed? Should you request reinforcements from Telar or only rely on Ricardo? (in case Maldor needed him).
What do you do?
Choice 1 - What to do about Humberto?
Option 1: Pursue the beastmen and try and locate them.
Option 2: Await reinforcements before proceeding.
Option 3: Forget Humberto and let Ricardo at camp to deal with it while you return to camp.
Choice 2 - The reinforcements. Antonio and his group will be continuing back to camp either way to request them. Should you wish to participate in Humberto's rescue attempt request them to you ask for -
Option 1: Ricardo only. (So Telar would be available for Maldor if he needed it.)
Option 2: Ricardo and Telar (Maldor will have no reinforcements until Telar returns.)
Option 3: Ricardo and a smaller detachment of your forces (so Maldor would have access to a small unit of reinforcements.)
Please vote one choice in each option. (where applicable)
Pics: Abu Jarir bin Copher.
Results from the last episode - Meet up with Humberto and explore together.
You departed to the west in order to meet with Humberto. As you moved through the jungle you observed the jungle darkening, it was an odd phenomenon. It was as if some parts of the jungle were completely devoid of light, while others only let thin rays shining down from the canopy.
As you walked you spoke with Abu Jarir bin Copher. Jarir was the mercenary captain of your dervishes. He was a tan skinned man in his mid thirties, with dark brown hair and a short beard. From what little he spoke you had uncovered he was a professional mercenary who had served almost everywhere in Araby.
Jarir had his dervishes flanking your column in an attempt to detect any potential ambushes. Despite the oppressive conditions of the jungle he didn't complain much either. You had no doubts that Jarir was a professional by trade, and the only time you would hear a complaint was if he wasn't paid on time.
By the end of the first day you made camp, you were grateful of the work which Humberto's party had made clearing the jungle ahead of you and compared to the distance you made on your previous ventures, it felt like you made three days progress in only one.
You spoke with Skoren who agreed to teach you Khazalid in exchange in teaching him some Eltharin. Skoren was handling the expedition well, his ironbreakers however not so much. The wet and damp of the jungle caused the heavily armoured dwarves constant discomfort and increased maintenance on their equipment to prevent rust. Further to that where the ground was soft they often sunk into it and sometimes had to be assisted out of their predicament due to their short height.
Still, you did your best not to laugh at them when you heard one of them curse loudly as they sunk into the ground and caught a few elves snickering at their misfortune. You warned your elves not to provoke the dwarves due to their incredibly short temper and keep their remarks to themselves.
Gutri on the other hand had not said a word to anyone since leaving El-Nasir's folly. Gutri was always the most hostile of his family from your previous dealings with him so it was probably better off he was not speaking anyway. You did your best to avoid him but wherever Skoren was, Gutri followed as his protector. He at least remained sober enough to perform that task.
You traded some words in each other's language before setting off to bed, deciding to skip your magical studies in favour of a good night's rest.
Some time later you were abruptly awoken by Sir Herron of Istor lightly shaking you on the shoulder.
"Princess wake up." he said urgently.
You groaned in protest, "what is it?"
"It's the human, Humberto. He is in danger." he replied.
You swung out of bed immediately. Sir Herron looked away red faced. You were still in your night-gown, a bare shouldered dress that was only slightly shorter than your camp dress, with your nightgown ending at the knees. Honestly you didn't see what the fuss was about as you had worn considerably less in your circus days. Judging by Sir Herron's reaction you thought it prudent to throw on a simple robe before venturing out from the tent. Looks like Telar was right, Sir Herron did fancy you after all.
You exited the tent, it was likely early morning but due to the thick canopy you could never really tell. You approached a group of people, you could see your translator Bakrat talking quickly in Tilean to a small group of Humberto's Rodelero. Some of them were injured.
"Bakrat. What is happening?" you asked.
"The beastmen. They ambushed Humberto's party, they carried him and others away. The rest were killed or scattered. They were trying to get to the camp to get reinforcements" Bakrat replied.
"How many beastmen attacked them?" you asked.
Bakrat relayed the question to the Rodelero. You recognised him as one of Humberto's lieutenants.
"Too many to count, he said it felt like hundreds." replied Bakrat.
"If it were hundreds none of them would have made it." said a voice in Reikspiel.
You turned your head and noticed Heinrich, the woodsman from the Empire, was present. You knew he was bi-lingual as he could understand Bakrat's Arabyan.
Heinrich looked like he wanted to talk, you nodded your head giving him permission to do so.
"Ask him what they looked like. Their heads, did they have horns?" asked Heinrich.
Bakrat relayed the information and the Rodelero replied. Nodding while he did so.
"Some, from what he saw. Most had none or small ones. A few had fully formed beast heads." said Bakrat.
"Any big ones? Bigger than us?" asked Henrich.
Bakrat relayed the information and the rodelero shook his head.
"Your thoughts Heinrich?" you asked in Reikspiel. You spoke this so the assembled dervishes and adventurers stood less chance of understanding you in case his reply invoked a panic.
"Sounds like mostly brays and ungors. Maybe a gor or two as well. So that's probably as good news as we will get. They are the weaker ones. Good at night and in an ambush but that's about it. The bigger they are and the more beast-like, the worst they get.
If they scattered 'Berto that means they couldn't have been too many, the fact these guys got to us is proof of that." said Heinrich.
"He said Humberto and others were captured, what will happen to them?" you asked.
"Taken back to the herdstone and sacrificed, then they will eat 'em." said Heinrich. His tone was very matter of fact. You recalled Heinrich saying he was from a place in the Empire called the Drakwald. Was the beastmen so commonplace in Heinrich's home that he could discuss such things so casually? How many of his friends and family had succumbed to this fate previously?
"How long do we have?" you asked.
"Not sure. Depends on how far away from the herdstone they are and what they do when they're there. Sometimes they just go straight for the killing. Othertimes they torture them and hold a big party, rutting and carrying on before they do it. We'll have to find the herdstone though, the beastmen are pretty hard to track and I'm no expert in the jungle by any means. I think one of the fellas in the group is a good jungle tracker though." said Heinrich.
"Do we have time to wait for reinforcements from the camp?" you asked.
Heinrich shrugged nonchalantly. "Like I said. Don't know. I do know there will be more of them at the herdstone but how many I am not sure. Sometimes it's a few dozen, other time it's hundreds. Worst case thousands. I can't say for sure." he replied.
"Bakrat. Ask him how far away they were ambushed? And his name." you said.
Bakrat did so and replied, "They had just settled in for the night. He thinks he was running for a three hours at least. His name is Antonio, he is one of Humberto's officers."
You considered your options. The base camp was about a day away, there you would be able to summon reinforcements to attempt a rescue from Ricardo and Telar. At least two hundred soldiers.
The beastmen were at an unknown location toward the west, tracking them would be hard but possible. The beastman's strength was unknown however based on what information you had the raiding party was made of weaker enemies who were heading back to a base which contained a larger force. It was possible that the beastfolk may be in the process of some sort of celebration which could be advantageous to you as well.
In terms of language you were not certain the beastman had the capacity to communicate with the captives but you could not be certain of that. Assuming they could, the beastmen would learn of your base and the potential for reinforcements, however they would not know that you were much closer than the base as Humberto had already left the basecamp before you returned and would not know you were already in the west.
You reviewed your forces. You had five dismounted Silver Helms including Sir Herron of Istor and Sindor, ten shadow warriors, five lothern seaguard, twenty dervishes, thirteen adventurers (two of which were wizards), ten ironbreakers and Skoren and Gutri Oakenshield. Plus about twelve supply train assistants.
In terms of reinforcements Ricardo would be coming no matter what. You were not in charge of the conquistatori so you could not advise them against it.
You needed a plan.
Was Humberto's life worth the risk of yours and your party? Should you wait for reinforcements before proceeding? Is waiting too long dooming Humberto to a grimm death, or by pursuing them would you be leading your own people into an ambush? How would the conquistatori react if their fearless leader was killed? Should you request reinforcements from Telar or only rely on Ricardo? (in case Maldor needed him).
What do you do?
Choice 1 - What to do about Humberto?
Option 1: Pursue the beastmen and try and locate them.
Option 2: Await reinforcements before proceeding.
Option 3: Forget Humberto and let Ricardo at camp to deal with it while you return to camp.
Choice 2 - The reinforcements. Antonio and his group will be continuing back to camp either way to request them. Should you wish to participate in Humberto's rescue attempt request them to you ask for -
Option 1: Ricardo only. (So Telar would be available for Maldor if he needed it.)
Option 2: Ricardo and Telar (Maldor will have no reinforcements until Telar returns.)
Option 3: Ricardo and a smaller detachment of your forces (so Maldor would have access to a small unit of reinforcements.)
Please vote one choice in each option. (where applicable)
Pics: Abu Jarir bin Copher.
"He that flies counts every foeman twice." J.R.R. Tolkien
I don't buy there's thousands, I don't even think hundreds. Maybe a hundred or so? Just how many people did Humberto have with him? But even so, we barely have enough people for a raid, much less if we get bogged down and are forced to engage.
[X] Await reinforcements before proceeding.
[X] Ricardo and a smaller detachment of your forces (so Maldor would have access to a small unit of reinforcements.)
I don't buy there's thousands, I don't even think hundreds. Maybe a hundred or so? Just how many people did Humberto have with him? But even so, we barely have enough people for a raid, much less if we get bogged down and are forced to engage.
[X] Await reinforcements before proceeding.
[X] Ricardo and a smaller detachment of your forces (so Maldor would have access to a small unit of reinforcements.)
About 60.
- Location
- yorkshire
[X] Await reinforcements before proceeding.
[X] Ricardo and a smaller detachment of your forces (so Maldor would have access to a small unit of reinforcements.)
[X] Ricardo and a smaller detachment of your forces (so Maldor would have access to a small unit of reinforcements.)
- Location
- Temporally? Now.
[X] Option 1: Pursue the beastmen and try and locate them.
[X] Ricardo and a smaller detachment of your forces (so Maldor would have access to a small unit of reinforcements.)
[X] Ricardo and a smaller detachment of your forces (so Maldor would have access to a small unit of reinforcements.)
Voting Closed.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Choice 1
Option 1 - 6 votes (wins)
Option 2 - 2 votes
Option 3 - 0 votes
Choice 2
Option 1 - 2 votes
Option 2 - 1 vote
Option 3 - 5 votes (wins)
Story to follow in the next few days.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Choice 1
Option 1 - 6 votes (wins)
Option 2 - 2 votes
Option 3 - 0 votes
Choice 2
Option 1 - 2 votes
Option 2 - 1 vote
Option 3 - 5 votes (wins)
Story to follow in the next few days.
Episode 73 - The Beastmen Part 2
Episode 73 - The Beastmen Part 2
Results from last episode - Option 1: Pursue the beastmen and try to locate them.
You bid Antonio and his beleaguered rodelero's farewell and packed up your camp. It was decided at the first sign of light you would set out to find the beastmen herdstone. Tracking by night would have been close to impossible as your proficient jungle tracker was a human adventurer, and therefore had poor night vision.
The humans would have required a light source which would act as a beacon for any potential beastman lurking in the shadows to find and ambush you. Fortunately you didn't have to wait long until the first slithers of light seeped from down the canopy and your party set off tracking the beastmen.
Upon setting out you learnt as much as possible from the beastmen from Heinrich. From your understanding the beastmen were more or less everywhere that men were however Heinrich appeared to be an expert on them and you were certain the beastmen of Araby would share some type of commonality with the beastmen of the Drakwald.
You learnt of the concepts of the herdstone as discussed previously, but now the concept of a blood ground. The idea that the beastmen held that everything within range of a herdstone to be prey and it was almost ritualistic for a beastmen to hunt and kill any living creature within it's range. Further to that if the beastmen had no conflict in the area they would create their own and the tribe would splinter into smaller factions and fight amongst themselves.
Heinrich therefore floated the idea that there could be different factions of the beastmen within the jungle, all of which would turn hostile immediately upon realising you were in the here. In fact it was entirely possible your mere presence could temporarily unite the beastmen to annihilate your expedition.
You were still vexed about the way Heinrich presented these opinions as little more than casual conversation. From what you learnt you probably would have been better off with the orcs rather than your current predicament.
The idea of the expedition was to land yourself in the heart of the jungle, a place where no man has ever returned from. Once there you would explore for your objectives, the conquistatores would be searching for the lost city of Tlaxocatl. You on the other hand were searching for a stone of power. Something you were not entirely certain was even here.
Whilst you were searching, the river parties in your expedition were exploring the waterways so you could find a way out when you found what you were looking for. At this stage they had not found a way to escape the jungle, meaning you were trapped in a hostile environment and were potentially surrounded by enemies with no way of escape and no assistance coming if you found yourself in trouble.
Was it a mistake coming here? Did you allow yourself to be swindled by Humberto's ridiculous plan? A fool's errand that was bought with your very lives?
The forward scouts returned and stated they encountered a small group of beastmen which they suitably ambushed and annihilated. You moved forward and discovered what remained of Humberto's camp.
About twelve beastmen had remained in the camp, feasting on some of the pack animal corpses before they met their end at the point of your Shadow Warrior's arrows. You looked at the creatures and they were truly a spectacle of horror. The beastmen were humanoid but their legs were twisted and morphed, their joints had bended and moulded to appear similar to a horses and their feet were cloven hoofs.
Their faces were twisted but still relatively humanoid with sharp teeth and on their small horns. Each of the beastmen had characteristics of animals, such as the hairy beards of goats, the pronounced snouts of dogs and many had small tusks protruding from their mouths. Their chests were bare and the legs were entirely covered in the shaggy hair of a beast, they wore no clothes and armour and were entirely naked.
You inspected their weapons which consisted of simple clubs, spears or strange wooden cub with sharp stone teeth embedded into it. All of the blades on the spears were also made from the dark black stone, which you believed to be obsidian. None of the weapons contained any metal on them.
Heinrich told you these were likely ungors, and you could tell by the small horns and humanoid features, they were one of the weaker forms of beastmen. The camp had been pillaged and torn apart and all the food and the bodies of the rodeleros had been taken. At least at this stage tracking would be possible as the large number of beastmen and humans that congregated in the area had left so many tracks even the uninitiated like yourself could see them.
*Tracking check failed*
Unfortunately your luck didn't continue. Shortly after you left the campsite the beastmen tracks completely disappeared and they were impossible to trace. It was if the beastmen were ghosts floating above the jungle floor for there was no record of their passage anywhere to be found.
You knew your trackers did your best but you wasted a full day trying to pick up the beastmen's trail to no avail. As darkness set in you set a double watch and ordered no fires for the night. The mood of the camp had soured somewhat, the humans were keen to rescue their own initially but the reality of the fate of the rodeleros were beginning to set in. You spent the night practising your channelling and incantations to try and distract yourself from the possibility of your expedition's impending doom. The only solace in not discovering the trail was the relief force would have already departed and were well on their way to your position by now.
*Tracking check passed*
The next day your trackers had more success, picking up a trail beast like footprints and the faintest residue of blood. You continued on the trail for what seemed like an age before your shadows warriors emerged from the undergrowth.
Calic, who was the warrior in charge of the shadow warrior band approached, "My lady we can here braying ahead, beastmen calls. We are close, we could scout out and return to you"
"Make it so. Heinrich, go with them. Tell me exactly what you see," you replied, your voice lowered.
Heinrich nodded and he disappeared with your scouts in the undergrowth and you readied your squad for battle. Your party waited in silence and as you attuned yourself to the sounds of the jungle you could hear the faint call of the beastmen too.
*Stealth check passed*
The scouts returned sometime later, much to your relief.
Heinrich spoke first, "it's the herdstone. They're having a right party, very noisy. Having a great time by the sounds of it. Couldn't get close enough to see if any of "Berto's boys were there. I'm thinking about one hundred, maybe one-fifty beasties. Couldn't get eyes on the lot of them. A few gors, a few wolf hounds but most are ungors and brays. Couldn't see what was leading them. I reckon we can get the drop on them with a bit of luck. Even the wolf hounds aren't paying attention. Too busy chewing on bones."
"Do we have enough to take them?" you asked.
Heinrich shrugged nonchantly, once again his casual nature irked you.
"Maybe, as long as we get the drop on them," said Heinrich.
You looked over to your assembled force. Five dismounted Silver Helms including Sir Herron of Istor and Sindor, ten shadow warriors, five lothern seaguard, twenty dervishes, thirteen adventurers (two of which were wizards), ten ironbreakers and Skoren and Gutri Oakenshield. Plus about twelve supply train assistants who could wield a hand weapon or a bow.
According to Heinrich the beastmen were fierce but easily spooked and quick to flee if things weren't going their way. Despite being quick to flee, they rallied quickly and were likely to return the fray when enough of them recovered. You had no capacity to chase routing units however you did have missile superiority. Herdstones were clearings which would give your missile units open line of sight, something which they did not have in most of the jungle. In terms of infantry the ironbreakers were solid but the dervishes could not hold in an extended fight. Your adventurers could support the front line of your forces too.
Your best bet would be the element of surprise. Yes it was easy for your ten or so scouts to move through the jungle undetected but what about the rest of you? If the beastmen were alerted too early you may lose your ambush advantage where you would enter a standing fight against a numerically superior force.
You couldn't confirm whether Humberto or any of his party were alive but if they were could you allow them to suffer any longer?
Then again, their fates were likely sealed by now due to you losing the track for a day. Maybe it was better to retreat to a safer location and wait for the relief force. They were about a day from your position, if you did so you could be condemning any possible survivors of Humberto's party to another night or horror, torture or death.
What do you do?
Option 1: Attempt the ambush
Option 2: Wait for reinforcements.
Pics: A beastman (gor)
Results from last episode - Option 1: Pursue the beastmen and try to locate them.
You bid Antonio and his beleaguered rodelero's farewell and packed up your camp. It was decided at the first sign of light you would set out to find the beastmen herdstone. Tracking by night would have been close to impossible as your proficient jungle tracker was a human adventurer, and therefore had poor night vision.
The humans would have required a light source which would act as a beacon for any potential beastman lurking in the shadows to find and ambush you. Fortunately you didn't have to wait long until the first slithers of light seeped from down the canopy and your party set off tracking the beastmen.
Upon setting out you learnt as much as possible from the beastmen from Heinrich. From your understanding the beastmen were more or less everywhere that men were however Heinrich appeared to be an expert on them and you were certain the beastmen of Araby would share some type of commonality with the beastmen of the Drakwald.
You learnt of the concepts of the herdstone as discussed previously, but now the concept of a blood ground. The idea that the beastmen held that everything within range of a herdstone to be prey and it was almost ritualistic for a beastmen to hunt and kill any living creature within it's range. Further to that if the beastmen had no conflict in the area they would create their own and the tribe would splinter into smaller factions and fight amongst themselves.
Heinrich therefore floated the idea that there could be different factions of the beastmen within the jungle, all of which would turn hostile immediately upon realising you were in the here. In fact it was entirely possible your mere presence could temporarily unite the beastmen to annihilate your expedition.
You were still vexed about the way Heinrich presented these opinions as little more than casual conversation. From what you learnt you probably would have been better off with the orcs rather than your current predicament.
The idea of the expedition was to land yourself in the heart of the jungle, a place where no man has ever returned from. Once there you would explore for your objectives, the conquistatores would be searching for the lost city of Tlaxocatl. You on the other hand were searching for a stone of power. Something you were not entirely certain was even here.
Whilst you were searching, the river parties in your expedition were exploring the waterways so you could find a way out when you found what you were looking for. At this stage they had not found a way to escape the jungle, meaning you were trapped in a hostile environment and were potentially surrounded by enemies with no way of escape and no assistance coming if you found yourself in trouble.
Was it a mistake coming here? Did you allow yourself to be swindled by Humberto's ridiculous plan? A fool's errand that was bought with your very lives?
The forward scouts returned and stated they encountered a small group of beastmen which they suitably ambushed and annihilated. You moved forward and discovered what remained of Humberto's camp.
About twelve beastmen had remained in the camp, feasting on some of the pack animal corpses before they met their end at the point of your Shadow Warrior's arrows. You looked at the creatures and they were truly a spectacle of horror. The beastmen were humanoid but their legs were twisted and morphed, their joints had bended and moulded to appear similar to a horses and their feet were cloven hoofs.
Their faces were twisted but still relatively humanoid with sharp teeth and on their small horns. Each of the beastmen had characteristics of animals, such as the hairy beards of goats, the pronounced snouts of dogs and many had small tusks protruding from their mouths. Their chests were bare and the legs were entirely covered in the shaggy hair of a beast, they wore no clothes and armour and were entirely naked.
You inspected their weapons which consisted of simple clubs, spears or strange wooden cub with sharp stone teeth embedded into it. All of the blades on the spears were also made from the dark black stone, which you believed to be obsidian. None of the weapons contained any metal on them.
Heinrich told you these were likely ungors, and you could tell by the small horns and humanoid features, they were one of the weaker forms of beastmen. The camp had been pillaged and torn apart and all the food and the bodies of the rodeleros had been taken. At least at this stage tracking would be possible as the large number of beastmen and humans that congregated in the area had left so many tracks even the uninitiated like yourself could see them.
*Tracking check failed*
Unfortunately your luck didn't continue. Shortly after you left the campsite the beastmen tracks completely disappeared and they were impossible to trace. It was if the beastmen were ghosts floating above the jungle floor for there was no record of their passage anywhere to be found.
You knew your trackers did your best but you wasted a full day trying to pick up the beastmen's trail to no avail. As darkness set in you set a double watch and ordered no fires for the night. The mood of the camp had soured somewhat, the humans were keen to rescue their own initially but the reality of the fate of the rodeleros were beginning to set in. You spent the night practising your channelling and incantations to try and distract yourself from the possibility of your expedition's impending doom. The only solace in not discovering the trail was the relief force would have already departed and were well on their way to your position by now.
*Tracking check passed*
The next day your trackers had more success, picking up a trail beast like footprints and the faintest residue of blood. You continued on the trail for what seemed like an age before your shadows warriors emerged from the undergrowth.
Calic, who was the warrior in charge of the shadow warrior band approached, "My lady we can here braying ahead, beastmen calls. We are close, we could scout out and return to you"
"Make it so. Heinrich, go with them. Tell me exactly what you see," you replied, your voice lowered.
Heinrich nodded and he disappeared with your scouts in the undergrowth and you readied your squad for battle. Your party waited in silence and as you attuned yourself to the sounds of the jungle you could hear the faint call of the beastmen too.
*Stealth check passed*
The scouts returned sometime later, much to your relief.
Heinrich spoke first, "it's the herdstone. They're having a right party, very noisy. Having a great time by the sounds of it. Couldn't get close enough to see if any of "Berto's boys were there. I'm thinking about one hundred, maybe one-fifty beasties. Couldn't get eyes on the lot of them. A few gors, a few wolf hounds but most are ungors and brays. Couldn't see what was leading them. I reckon we can get the drop on them with a bit of luck. Even the wolf hounds aren't paying attention. Too busy chewing on bones."
"Do we have enough to take them?" you asked.
Heinrich shrugged nonchantly, once again his casual nature irked you.
"Maybe, as long as we get the drop on them," said Heinrich.
You looked over to your assembled force. Five dismounted Silver Helms including Sir Herron of Istor and Sindor, ten shadow warriors, five lothern seaguard, twenty dervishes, thirteen adventurers (two of which were wizards), ten ironbreakers and Skoren and Gutri Oakenshield. Plus about twelve supply train assistants who could wield a hand weapon or a bow.
According to Heinrich the beastmen were fierce but easily spooked and quick to flee if things weren't going their way. Despite being quick to flee, they rallied quickly and were likely to return the fray when enough of them recovered. You had no capacity to chase routing units however you did have missile superiority. Herdstones were clearings which would give your missile units open line of sight, something which they did not have in most of the jungle. In terms of infantry the ironbreakers were solid but the dervishes could not hold in an extended fight. Your adventurers could support the front line of your forces too.
Your best bet would be the element of surprise. Yes it was easy for your ten or so scouts to move through the jungle undetected but what about the rest of you? If the beastmen were alerted too early you may lose your ambush advantage where you would enter a standing fight against a numerically superior force.
You couldn't confirm whether Humberto or any of his party were alive but if they were could you allow them to suffer any longer?
Then again, their fates were likely sealed by now due to you losing the track for a day. Maybe it was better to retreat to a safer location and wait for the relief force. They were about a day from your position, if you did so you could be condemning any possible survivors of Humberto's party to another night or horror, torture or death.
What do you do?
Option 1: Attempt the ambush
Option 2: Wait for reinforcements.
Pics: A beastman (gor)
Jeez. Could we, maybe, not attack a hundred and fifty fighters with sixty-odd people? Surprise gets a lot done, but not that much. Even if we win, we'll get savaged in the process. Let's be blunt here--our people's lives are worth more than Humberto's, and we're already making good faith efforts here.
Nice picture of a gor. Comes across as having an Impressionistic feel to it--I like it.
[X] Option 2: Wait for reinforcements.
Nice picture of a gor. Comes across as having an Impressionistic feel to it--I like it.
[X] Option 2: Wait for reinforcements.
thank you.
- Location
- Temporally? Now.
[X] Option 2: Wait for reinforcements.
They'd probably be less likely to break and run when they're around the herdstone.
They'd probably be less likely to break and run when they're around the herdstone.
[X] Option 2: Wait for reinforcements.
- Location
- yorkshire
[X] Option 2: Wait for reinforcements
Voting Closed.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Option 1 - 3 votes
Option 2 - 4 votes (wins)
Story to follow in the next few days.
Results from voting including tallies from Facebook.
Option 1 - 3 votes
Option 2 - 4 votes (wins)
Story to follow in the next few days.
Episode 74 - The Beastmen Part 3
Episode 74 - The Beastmen Part 3
Results from last episode - Wait for reinforcements.
You decided it was better to wait for reinforcements.
You retreated a safe distance away and set up camp. You spent the night discussing more about the beastmen with Heinrich, whilst doing so you caught Sir Herron glaring at the two of you. Your champion promptly looked away when you caught his eye but every now again you caught him looking in your direction whilst you spoke with Heinrich.
You recalled Telar's words some time ago that Sir Herron was infatuated with you. You didn't think much of it at the time but you knew obsession was one of the vices of your people, and obsession leads to jealousy. Of course Heinrich was a human and therefore you had no romantic interest in him, nor any other elf, human or dwarf alike in the expedition, but jealous eyes come to their own conclusions.
Yes you were lonely, but only in the sense that you were the leader and a high ranking noble which alienated you from everyone else. If you ever made a friend you would need to be careful of who it was and how it would affect them within the expedition. You definitely wouldn't want to give them the wrong idea about your intentions either. Maybe you were better off being alone after all?
The next day the reinforcements arrived. One hundred and fifty rodeleros, elves and dervishes with Telar and Ricardo in command. Half of your garrison had stayed behind under the command of Talion in case Maldor needed them. Apparently Telar insisted on accompanying the reinforcements rather than stay behind.
Ricardo appeared annoyed that you didn't press the advantage of the ambush, he was obviously concerned about his companions. Telar approached you, his face was impassive.
"Why did you wait for us, as opposed to attack?" asked Telar.
You sighed inwardly. Was this another lesson?
"I have been speaking to Heinrich, a woodsman from the Empire, who was with the adventurers we hired. He is something of an expert on the beastmen. Relying on surprise alone against a larger force seemed risky with what we had, especially since beastmen were tenacious enough to break the rodeleros. I also didn't want to risk my party without confirming that Humberto and his rodeleros were still alive." you replied.
"Their lives are not worth ours. We cooperate with them because it is beneficial for us to do so but we are not responsible for them. Why take counsel from a human? Surely one of our kin would be more knowledgeable? Are we not superior to the humans in every way?" asked Telar.
"None among us offered counsel, Heinrich did." you replied.
"Why trust the word of a human?" asked Telar.
"His words were proved accurate and he has a vested interest in seeing me succeed. One he wants to get paid, and two he wants to live. I trusted my instincts. I am….not sure about your comments that we are superior in every way to the humans though," you replied.
Telar regarded you for a moment, the side of his mouth crept up ever so slightly.
"We are superior to the humans, however to ignore the opinions of others due to our superiority is a foolish endeavour. If you are to be a leader you need to take counsel from those around you regardless of who they are. There are many among our kin who would not. They would burden the Asur with the weight of the entire world if it would it bring them enough honour and glory." he said.
When Telar spoke the last part of his words, his eyes moved onto Sir Herron who was watching the two of you intently from a distance.
"I have fought the beastmen before, they are common in Naggaroth. Primitive they may be, they are ferocious and cunning and will stand and fight in their defence of their herdstone. Perhaps the ambush would have been successful. Perhaps not. What is important is that you are confident in your decision and you are prepared to accept the consequences." said Telar.
You were surprised. Naggaroth was the land of the Druchii, the Dark Elves. "You have been to Naggaroth?" you asked.
"I was a shadow warrior for five hundred years before I took a position in your household guard. Of course I have been to Naggaroth." Telar replied simply.
You met with Telar, Ricardo, Bakrat and Heinrich. You discussed the battle plans, assuming the element of surprise was now off the table you could proceed in one of two ways. You could try and surround the camp as much as possible before launching your attack or advance forward as a unit.
The advantage of surrounding was there were less beastmen that could escape, the disadvantage is your individual line was weaker and as a result casualties may be higher. The advantage of the advancing as a unit was the casualties would be theoretically lower but it would give the beastmen the ability to rout freely.
Telar was confident victory could be achieved with the assembled forces. Ricardo was willing to concede the plan to you as you brought the majority of the manpower, once the battle was joined however his immediate priority would be locating and rescuing any survivors and he requested your forces give his men cover whilst he did so. It was still relatively early in the day and by the time battle was joined it would be mid afternoon, more than enough time to take the fight and retreat a safe distance before nightfall.
Depending on how many beastmen routed would increase the chance of a counter attack that night however Heinrich stated some sort of retaliation was inevitable by the beastmen as they were far more capable in the night than the day.
You set out towards the herdstone and set your forward scouts towards the beastmen encampment
*Luck Check Failed*
Your scouts returned and said the beastmen camp was full of activity, they were unable to get close enough to properly scout it due to the amount of beastmen moving about. The ambush was no longer possible.
What do you do?
Option 1: Try and surround the beastmen camp as much as possible before the attack.
Option 2: Proceed as a large single unit.
Pics: Dervishes move through the jungle.
Results from last episode - Wait for reinforcements.
You decided it was better to wait for reinforcements.
You retreated a safe distance away and set up camp. You spent the night discussing more about the beastmen with Heinrich, whilst doing so you caught Sir Herron glaring at the two of you. Your champion promptly looked away when you caught his eye but every now again you caught him looking in your direction whilst you spoke with Heinrich.
You recalled Telar's words some time ago that Sir Herron was infatuated with you. You didn't think much of it at the time but you knew obsession was one of the vices of your people, and obsession leads to jealousy. Of course Heinrich was a human and therefore you had no romantic interest in him, nor any other elf, human or dwarf alike in the expedition, but jealous eyes come to their own conclusions.
Yes you were lonely, but only in the sense that you were the leader and a high ranking noble which alienated you from everyone else. If you ever made a friend you would need to be careful of who it was and how it would affect them within the expedition. You definitely wouldn't want to give them the wrong idea about your intentions either. Maybe you were better off being alone after all?
The next day the reinforcements arrived. One hundred and fifty rodeleros, elves and dervishes with Telar and Ricardo in command. Half of your garrison had stayed behind under the command of Talion in case Maldor needed them. Apparently Telar insisted on accompanying the reinforcements rather than stay behind.
Ricardo appeared annoyed that you didn't press the advantage of the ambush, he was obviously concerned about his companions. Telar approached you, his face was impassive.
"Why did you wait for us, as opposed to attack?" asked Telar.
You sighed inwardly. Was this another lesson?
"I have been speaking to Heinrich, a woodsman from the Empire, who was with the adventurers we hired. He is something of an expert on the beastmen. Relying on surprise alone against a larger force seemed risky with what we had, especially since beastmen were tenacious enough to break the rodeleros. I also didn't want to risk my party without confirming that Humberto and his rodeleros were still alive." you replied.
"Their lives are not worth ours. We cooperate with them because it is beneficial for us to do so but we are not responsible for them. Why take counsel from a human? Surely one of our kin would be more knowledgeable? Are we not superior to the humans in every way?" asked Telar.
"None among us offered counsel, Heinrich did." you replied.
"Why trust the word of a human?" asked Telar.
"His words were proved accurate and he has a vested interest in seeing me succeed. One he wants to get paid, and two he wants to live. I trusted my instincts. I am….not sure about your comments that we are superior in every way to the humans though," you replied.
Telar regarded you for a moment, the side of his mouth crept up ever so slightly.
"We are superior to the humans, however to ignore the opinions of others due to our superiority is a foolish endeavour. If you are to be a leader you need to take counsel from those around you regardless of who they are. There are many among our kin who would not. They would burden the Asur with the weight of the entire world if it would it bring them enough honour and glory." he said.
When Telar spoke the last part of his words, his eyes moved onto Sir Herron who was watching the two of you intently from a distance.
"I have fought the beastmen before, they are common in Naggaroth. Primitive they may be, they are ferocious and cunning and will stand and fight in their defence of their herdstone. Perhaps the ambush would have been successful. Perhaps not. What is important is that you are confident in your decision and you are prepared to accept the consequences." said Telar.
You were surprised. Naggaroth was the land of the Druchii, the Dark Elves. "You have been to Naggaroth?" you asked.
"I was a shadow warrior for five hundred years before I took a position in your household guard. Of course I have been to Naggaroth." Telar replied simply.
You met with Telar, Ricardo, Bakrat and Heinrich. You discussed the battle plans, assuming the element of surprise was now off the table you could proceed in one of two ways. You could try and surround the camp as much as possible before launching your attack or advance forward as a unit.
The advantage of surrounding was there were less beastmen that could escape, the disadvantage is your individual line was weaker and as a result casualties may be higher. The advantage of the advancing as a unit was the casualties would be theoretically lower but it would give the beastmen the ability to rout freely.
Telar was confident victory could be achieved with the assembled forces. Ricardo was willing to concede the plan to you as you brought the majority of the manpower, once the battle was joined however his immediate priority would be locating and rescuing any survivors and he requested your forces give his men cover whilst he did so. It was still relatively early in the day and by the time battle was joined it would be mid afternoon, more than enough time to take the fight and retreat a safe distance before nightfall.
Depending on how many beastmen routed would increase the chance of a counter attack that night however Heinrich stated some sort of retaliation was inevitable by the beastmen as they were far more capable in the night than the day.
You set out towards the herdstone and set your forward scouts towards the beastmen encampment
*Luck Check Failed*
Your scouts returned and said the beastmen camp was full of activity, they were unable to get close enough to properly scout it due to the amount of beastmen moving about. The ambush was no longer possible.
What do you do?
Option 1: Try and surround the beastmen camp as much as possible before the attack.
Option 2: Proceed as a large single unit.
Pics: Dervishes move through the jungle.
- Location
- Temporally? Now.
[X] Option 2: Proceed as a large single unit.
I don't really care if some manage to flee, so long as we break them and prevent them from taking things (and people) with them.
I don't really care if some manage to flee, so long as we break them and prevent them from taking things (and people) with them.
I'm more worried about getting more casualties, we aren't getting any new elves for potentially years yet. So I think as 1 big block we will get less causalities.
[X] Option 2: Proceed as a large single unit.
Reinforcements from Ulthuan will be about 3 months away give or take.
I wish we had a third alternative, breaking into three groups of fifty or so. That would be enough to form offensive or defensive formations while maximizing enemy casualties and attacking from all angles. But as for the current options, I'd rather be conservative with our troops.
[X] Option 2: Proceed as a large single unit.
Edited after OP clarification below:
[X] Option 1: Try and surround the beastmen camp as much as possible before the attack.
Edited after OP clarification below:
[X] Option 1: Try and surround the beastmen camp as much as possible before the attack.
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If you pick option 1 I can incorporate that suggestion into 1's plan. You would never surround the herdstone in a big single line circle. Small blocks from multiple angles like what you have suggested is what I imagine would happen. Do you want to change to 1?