Battle: Northern Reaches Fortress Exterior

26th of Ymiden 717

A blistering desert that stretches for hundreds of miles around Nashaki, with very little relief from the baking heat.
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Eddrick Brodon
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Battle: Northern Reaches Fortress Exterior


From his elevated position, Eddrick watched the retreat and regroup of the Nashaki forces. No one seemed in any hurry to see if there was any tactical material or features in the building isolated by the burning bridge. He believed they had killed everyone inside, and sent one of his stealthiest men back down to check this out. If there was anything useful within that building, he wanted to know about it.

In the meantime, it did not take much experience to see that the bridges were the Nashaki's most versatile means of troop movement. And while in one sense, they were a boon to the defenders, Eddrick believed they could also be made into a liability. The invaders had a clearly advantageous presence on this left side, due to their clifftop position. As a result, the defenders had an inordinate number on this same side, to forestall any press by the Imperials to move against the interior of the facility.

If the bridges on the far side were to be attacked directly, as in the structures themselves, and not the men atop them, the buildings they serviced could be isolated from any reinforcements. If groups of horses with stout ropes could pull down sections of those bridges, the facility could be divided and conquered in a step-by-step fashion. It would take time for defense to shift back to the right side to stop this tactic. By then, they might have already been able to pull down a key bridge structure to prevent it from happening altogether.

The trouble was that the structures that Eddrick thought most serviceable to this attack were the ones nearest the second defense cauldron. Centurion Gardise was quick to point this out when the Rhakrii 'Captain' presented his idea. For a moment, Eddrick was stymied by this unfortunate detail. But he caught sight of the surrendered cavalry units of the Nashaki forces, and a grim solution came to mind.

A cold grin stretched his cheeks, the recent memory of his screaming and burning friends crushing any sliver of compassion from his heart, "...Perhaps we can persuade their own horsemen to do it for us, to show the sincerity of their surrender. Offer them a false amnesty, like they did for my men. The troops manning that cauldron may be just a bit more hesitant to inflict that horror on their brothers-in-arms; surrendered or not. At the very least, we can attach the ropes to their horses instead of our own."

But in truth, he thought that horses pulling at the span running directly down from the building with the second cauldron, pulling toward the right cliff face, would not be in the direct path of the cauldron's spill anyway. Then those lower buildings would be cut off from reinforcements and could come under concentrated assault with little hope of rescue.

Last edited by Eddrick Brodon on Wed Jan 10, 2018 4:09 am, edited 2 times in total. word count: 481
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Brayden
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Battle: Northern Reaches Fortress Exterior

Brayden grimaced as he watched his plan flower and wither in a matter of moments, he should have been watching the enemy falling to the ground right now, bleeding and bloodied with a mass of arrows in their corpses but no, instead it was the Nashaki forces losing ground and men. He sighed, his jaw clenching as he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his clenched fist, being pressed into service for an army that appeared rife with incompetent to Brayen did nothing for his mood.

“Your men are useless” He noted, through yellow, gritted teeth as he turned back to the now helmet-less officer. He could smell the thick smoke from the burning bridge flood his nostrils and the order to abandon the exterior ring out along the bridges and walkways. Any man on the ground, under the glare of the unrelenting desert sun. Lets hope they cook in their metal armour Brayden thought grimly as he considered his options. He could hardly defect, deep in the ranks of the Nashaki forces, he would be cut to ribbons before his second breath. And he could not retreat, he had no problem with the concept but currently the only entrance to this god forsaken fortress was filled with enemy troops.

A growing whistle from the sky derailed his train of thought, as a hot stab of pain erupted from the side of his head as a shining arrow head flashed by, taking a chunk of his right ear with it as sickening warm blood ran down the side of his face. The mercery cried out in pain, spitting every curse under sun he could imagine, promising death upon every archer and their unborn children. “Argh… Bloody, fucking, son’s of whores...” He shouted in a furious tirade that seemed unending amongst the chaotic battle that raged around them.

“You wanna know what to do now!?” He yelled, pointing a gnarled finger accusingly at the officer who had yet to say a word after Brayden’s ridiculous stunt with molten glass. “Focus on every bastard of an archer out there, any moron with a bow is a target” He declared as bloody leaked through a dirty hand that he now clamped around the remainder of his ear “If this is gonna be a fight for this piece of crap for a fortress, I don’t want to have to worry about get a dozen arrows in my arse!”

He didn’t wait to see if the officer would listen, or that the men would follow his order, he didn’t really care either way. Instead he stormed off, heading further back along the walkways, his shield raised as he walked amongst the tiring ranks of archers, he had was keen to avoid any more encounters with arrows. Once bitten, twice shy. “Aim for their archers” He shouted sporadically as he stumbled through the crowd, his eyes fixed on the second bubbling cauldron, his mind fixed on watching more of the enemy burn.

This cauldron felt like it had been heated even further, he felt its presence before he had even stepped close to it, the dry heat sapping the moisture from his body, if he survived this battle, he could find himself with aching bones, a throbbing head and a mouth drier than a desert itself. “More glass” He barked at the soldiers charged with operating it.
“Its already full, there’ll be too much in it” One of them stated, point to the bubbling surface that wasn’t that far from the brim of the cauldron but that’s what Brayden desired.
“More glass!” He ordered, this time they obeyed.

He had only planned to burn as many as he could but as he waited for the for the new glass to melt, he watched the Empire’s forces begin to sling ropes across the walkways, attaching them to the horses below. So, they want to take our only advantage Brayden noted, as he thought about what he could do next. The cauldron wouldn’t hold enough molten glass to cut off under normal operation, even filled to the brim, but perhaps he could make it spread further. He crouched down, looking at the cauldron. The entire base of it was built into the stone building with no means of removing it, he couldn’t remove it but that the poles that the actual cauldron was mounted on on either side looked like they could be slid out, with enough force. He let out a long sigh, it was times like this that he wished he did had a god to pray to.

With cauldron filled dangerously to the brim, he ordered two troops either side of the siege cauldron, he tone was one thick with threats as they looked nervously at each other. His hands still gloved with the thick leather, he rested it under the lip of the cauldron and bent his knees. He winced, cracking under the heat of the cauldron as he order them to pull. His fingers struggled to meet his ambition as he yanked with all his strength that his body could muster. The poles shifted, albeit agonizingly slow as the veins on Brayden’s neck bulged furiously, his expression was reminiscent of a man bound to a commode after a heavy meal. “Pull them harder!” He screamed out in frustration. There were no guarantees here, the cauldron could fall sideways and bathe them all in a fiery inferno, the force of the of cauldron hitting the battlefield below might not be enough to send spray of molten glass he envisioned in his mind far enough to cut of the horse and leave them tot he mercy of Nashaki’s archers, or it might just might send a torrent of it back up onto Brayden.

He felt the poles shift further from the cauldron, the cauldron was tipping forward, he couldn’t not see the small stream of molten glass running down the other side of the metal pot. A voice cried out in protest from behind him “Some of our men are still down there”. Brayden summoned the rest of his strength from his tiring arms, he didn’t need to tip it over completely, just guide it forward enough. With a loud bang the cauldron slipped free of its support, a fersome slight spray of molten glass erupted in front of Brayden’s very eyes as he gave it one last pull upwards. The shifting fluid did the rest as the cauldron shifted forward, slipping over the edge with a slow grace.

What happened down below was out of the mercenary’s hands now, only one thing was certain to him.

“I don’t care about your men.”
My apologies for the delay. Graduation, work and a touch of illness hasn't been ideal. Not to mention a fair bit of block when it came to writing. Sorry.
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Basilisk Snek
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Battle: Northern Reaches Fortress Exterior

Centurion Gardise had indeed raised the point about putting their soldiers in the line of cauldron fire when Eddrick had presented his idea. It hadn't been a flat rejection, but such things had to be considered very carefully. When he suggested using the captured soldiers to do the job, she considered that for a moment, then nodded. "A good use of surrendered soldiers, but for one point. The Eternal Empire does not offer false amnesty. We hold ourselves above such deceit." she said, her tone firm. Eddrick was still new to working with Empire and thus was likely less than familiar with the sense of honor that the Empire held so dear.

Still, the order was given and the offer was made to the surrendered soldier. To Gardise's surprise, a fair number took the offer. "Such loyalty Nashaki inspires." she said mockingly as the captured soldiers went to work. In truth, if that was the extent of Nashaki's soldiers loyalty, perhaps taking the Hotlands could be done with even less work than she had initially supposed.

Brayden, meanwhile was trying his plan with the molten glass. It was somewhat insane, but it worked, creating a large wave of molten glass that flowed outward, doing damage to both the defectors and the the Imperial forces in the area. However, some of it did splash back up to the platform, burning Brayden's arms and the arms of the soldiers that had helped him.

Still, it didn't get all of the defectors and those that remained active kept working at the supports. The molten glass had backfired a bit there as well, as the splash had hit the support beams, weakening them and aiding the defectors. However, Nashaki still had one more advantage and its arrival was signalled by a sudden shower of falling rocks into Imperial forces.

Gardise looked up and swore at the sight of the Avriel circling the skies above them. "Athart! Think they can change the tide of this battle do they?" she growled before snapping an order behind that moved down the chain. "Archers! Focus all fire on the Avriel." The command had the desired effect and all Imperial archery focused on eliminating Athart's contribution to the battle.
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Eddrick Brodon
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Battle: Northern Reaches Fortress Exterior


For a moment, anger and frustration warred on Eddrick's face as his jaw worked silently, impotently. He had no doubt that the Imperials knew what "false amnesty" he had referred to. The look the Centurion had offered back left no doubt she had heard of Nashaki's having reneged on their deal with the Rhakriis. As much as the Raider Chief wanted to elaborate on his desire to give them the same, it occurred to him that he'd ultimately end up reminding this Imperial commander that he'd originally been on the other side.

It only took a few ticks for the Raider to back down, taking a step back with a respectful nod. A different kind of emotional conflict struck him when he saw a number of the captives take up the offer. In a sense, he felt vindication as to the quick turning of the coat embraced by the ex-Nashakis, and its display of their lack of honor. On the other, he knew he was not all that far removed from the same, and that the Imperials were coming off as a step above them both in this regard.

This reverie was shockingly broken by the sudden splattering crush of a soldier's head nearby. The shouts of alarm rebounded throughout the Imperials' ranks as stones began falling among them. Many hit sand with no infliction of injury, but equally as many did strike flesh or armor with horrific impact. It had suddenly become an oddly flanked battle, as the invaders' eyes were now forced to either look ahead at incoming defender activity, or skyward to avoid being brained by avriel bombardment.

The Centurion, and others of her level gave the predictable command to bring fire at the winged enemies, but care had to be taken of those misses whose trajectories might become a hazard to the archers themselves. As well, the few casualties among the flying threat were not enough to demoralize them as they abandoned the field to gather more ammunition. It was also worth noting that they had now gathered a sense of the vertical range of the archers below. One could only hope that they might be forced to such altitude as to lose what accuracy they had shown on the first salvo.

The hail abated as quickly as it struck with the departure of the avriel. But morale was now boosted decidedly on the side of the defenders. Eddrick knew that the treaty between Nashaki and Athart was actually non-existent and only honored because the bird-men knew no better. He had withheld revealing this due to his reluctance to risk the avriel's impulsive behavior bringing them suddenly to the Imperial side in outrage. Such an alliance could be unstoppable, he feared.

But he was not so sure now that this might be for the best. He had heard Raskalarn's dogma from a few sources in his time in the Hotlands. It was mostly that he assumed it to be downplayed for political purposes, and not truly representative of a conqueror's likely attitude. But he'd been seeing more and more evidence all the time that she was genuinely seeking to end global strife through the establishment of a single, honorable authority.

But for now, he still decided to see more before revealing it. This knowledge was his greatest asset, and he would not play it lightly. Instead, he turned to more immediate logistical concerns. The avriel would be back, which means they either have a source of good-sized stones nearby, or they are looking for one right now.

He turned to his commander, "Centurion! Is there a spot likely to yield stones of this size nearby? The avriel may be a great power in flight, but on the ground they are no more formidable than any other. Where would they go to grab stones for another assault? Send some mounted archers to intercept them!"

Last edited by Eddrick Brodon on Wed Jan 10, 2018 4:08 am, edited 2 times in total. word count: 660
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Battle: Northern Reaches Fortress Exterior

A hollow cry of pain failed to manifest in the mercenary’s lungs as his arms were set ablaze in a flash of festering pain that seemed to burn to his bones. He fell to the floor, writhing in agony, not alone either. His dry throat was torn apart trying to utter a scream or plea for help, it may have been only a spray of mist but it was molten glass, not water, and he felt the difference in excruciating agony at that moment. His eyes went from wide open to buried shut but in those moment, he glimsped men surrounding the soldiers that assisted him, stripping off their clothing and armour off their arms with gleaming blades but Brayden had a bigger problem. He had only donned an incomplete set of leather armour, and under the hot sun he had forgone any clothing on his arms, set on remaining atop the walkways and way from infantry combat, and was this decision that mean the glass was burying into his flesh.

“Hold him still” A voice barked as rough hands grabbed his shoulders, hands and legs, pinning him down and avoiding any part of him that smelt of burning flesh. “Scrap off the glass” the stern voice ordered as Brayden’s eyes opened wide in a panicked, struggling and failing to wrestle off the men as a sudden flash of steel shone over both his forearms. “What the are doing? What the fu-”. His words were cut of as the sharp edge scraped his skin off him. They were no doctors. Brayden’s head jerked back, slamming against the stone roof he lay upon, the pain made it seem like an eternity as he wasn’t sure if he was going to blackout or not as birds the size of men appeared in the skies. It was not some pain induced hallucination Brayden realised as the word Avriel rumbled along the lines of men along the walkways, he never thought he’d see the day he’s be pleased to see those harpies.

He joy was short lived as he was brought to his feet and met eye-to-eye with a far sterner looking officer than the previous one. The mercenary could hardly stand, his feet felt foreign to him, his arms were bleeding, the top layer of skin sloppily stripped off him as fierce blisters erupted in patches around singed flesh and burnt hairs. “You killed our men without being ordered, you threw our siege cauldron off the fortress without being ordered. You’re insane” He barked quickly at him. Brayden didn’t know they were defectors and perhaps the officer didn’t either, or he didn’t care. “Get to the eastern entrance, the gods will decide if you deserve to live”.

Brayden was pushed away, struggling to stand upright as he staggered his way to the eastern fortress entrance. Any solider who might’ve trusted him a few moments ago certainly wouldn’t now, he made it clear he didn’t care for the their lives at all. He no ideas anyway, no gambits he could make, he felt broken as he bled his way into the building and down the stairs, the sound of clashing swords and shield drowned out by the relentlessly pain that flooded his brain. He wasn’t a tactician, he only saw two options so far as the archers were concerned. Focus on the Empire’s archers, spare the Avriel their ire but Brayden had no clue how effective their aerial support would be. Or, train every archer on the forces right outside, push them back and make the calvary a burden.

He pushed his way past the lines of men, towards the shining light outside and the silhouette of battle, his shield raised and ready, his blade already beginning to stab through the first enemy he could find. With the first drop of warm, salty bloody on his lips, the pain subsided ever so slightly and he knew what he would do.
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Battle: Northern Reaches Fortress Exterior

Gardise looked at Eddrick a long moment, the nodded. "There just might be." she said, her tone thoughtful. "Come with me, Captain." she said, heading back towards where a group of the Rhakrii's were still keeping the line to the top of the cliff open. Looking down at the soldiers, she scanned for one of the wounded headed to the back of the battle, towards the scouts. "Have them send one of the wolves up here!" she shouted down at the soldier, who saluted and picked up his pace somewhat.

A few bits later, a large wolf came bounding down towards the ropes. "I need him up here." she said to Eddrick, letting him order his troops around, as she technically wasn't their commander. Once the wolf was up on the cliff, Gardise indulged in some behavior that likely baffled the Rhakrii's. She knelt in front of the wolf and spoke directly to it. "The scouts found a rock field to the south, the Avriel will resupply there. We need to get some forces out to deal prevent them returning if we can. Cavalry archers suggested for that force. Pass it on." she said, her tone firm and calm. After a moment, a horn sounded from behind the Imperial lines and the Imperial mounted archers wheeled away from the battle, heading towards the entrance of the fort, where they were given new water bags before they headed into the desert.

Grinning, Gardise stood up. "Stay with me, please." she said to the wolf before she turned back towards the fort entrances. The legionnaires had pushed up to the western entrance now, and they were starting to take the eastern stairs. "Shall we head inside, Captain?" Gardise said cheerfully as she started towards the fort.

Eventually, the Avriel did return, but there were less of them. This time they focused their efforts on the Imperial forces on the stairs, hoping to keep as many of them away from the doors as they possibly could.
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Brayden, there wasn't much I could do for you this post, sorry. =[
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Battle: Northern Reaches Fortress Exterior

Eddrick looked on skeptically as his commander crouched before a large wolf and spoke commands. It was not the nature of the commands that gave him pause; they matched his own thoughts about what to do about the avriel. But seeing them given to an animal, regardless of its size and splendor, made him wonder if Centurion Gardise was becoming unbalanced.

But the keen glint of intelligence in the animal's eyes, it's attentive stance as she spoke her instructions, and the immediate departure of mounted cavalry forces in the direction she'd stated, spoke to a supernaturally effective communication system. The wolf itself did not depart, so he had to assume that the centurion's voice somehow carried through some link to a different host; undoubtedly through a linked second animal.

As they headed across the section of the battlefield they now had secured, one of the Rhakriis returned to confirm to Eddrick that the forward building did contain an interior stairway to the second level structure, and by extension, the roof of the lower section. No immediate strategic use of this detail came to mind as the party continued at an efficient, but unhurried pace across the yard.

The avriel returned, but were much less of a factor this time. Not only were there less of them, they had, in fact, stayed at a higher elevation, and were less accurate with their bombardment. It also was telling that the invaders were now aware of their threat and had watchers that gave an alert long before they arrived. The salvo of falling stones was more of a delaying tactic than an actual attack this time around.

Still, it also served to give an edge to the defenders, who were now hunkered down in covered positions that were nearly unassailable from the ground. The Nashaki forced put this to good use, once again creating two directions to be defended against. Only archery fire from the far cliff tops could bring any serious threat to them, and they had shield bearers to respond with overhead cover to this tactic. Nonetheless, it served in the same capacity as the avriel bombardment, causing the enemy to duck rather than fire.

The Imperials largely ducked under the still-standing raised walkways as stones clunked off to fall harmlessly on the ground. Many hugged the sides of buildings to enjoy much the same protection. But one additional insight struck Eddrick as he watched a dozen men struggle to hoist the fallen span of walkway to hold it overhead against the hail of falling rocks.

That sight, coupled with the confirmation that the upper level could access an inner stairway down to the ground level gave him an idea. The defenders were now conducting themselves almost entirely that way; barricading themselves in behind blocked doorways on the ground floors. But if they could get onto the first level roof, they could come at the defenders inside via the stairs.

Eddrick stopped abruptly, tapping the arm of his superior, "A ramp!" he said to the centurion as he pointed to the men beneath the length of broken walkway. He began to explain what he meant, but the enthusiasm in Gardise's expression made it plain she already understood. "Maybe we should tear down a couple more walkways."
Last edited by Eddrick Brodon on Sat Jan 13, 2018 1:27 am, edited 3 times in total. word count: 551
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Battle: Northern Reaches Fortress Exterior

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Gardise knew they needed to get more people on top of the buildings, and she was about to give an order get some grappling ropes set up. However, that was a risky option and there was always a chance they wouldn't stick. However, then Eddrick piped up with his recommendation of ramps and she grinned, then nodded at his suggestion. "Plus, the way this place is designed, removing the ramps cuts off the outer buildings completely. We would be able to just starve the outer buildings out and force a surrender." she said, grinning. The centurion walked out to the edge of the cliff, keeping her shield up to prevent an injury via dropped rock, and took a deep breath.

"LEGIONNAIRES, TEAR DOWN THE WALKWAYS LEADING TO THE OUTER BUILDINGS, THEN CONSTRUCT A SIEGE RAMP AND ASSAULT THE UPPER LEVEL." she called, her voice proving to have quite the reach. The soldiers began following her orders immediately, and several of the scouts moved down to the walkways to lend their axes to the removal of the walkways. This endeavor also highlighted a weakness in the fortifications that Gardise couldn't believe had been allowed to pass. The outer buildings had now windows in the back, only facing the front, so there was no way for forces in the outer buildings to fire at the soldiers behind them. "Idiots. Well, we'll fix that once we have this place under control." she growled.

Her call had mobilized the defenders in the only buildings with exterior exits to move forces to the upper level in an attempt to keep the siege ramps from being a successful tactic, but that had worked into Gardise's plan as well. "They're already pulling forces from the lower defenses, and they don't have enough people to maintain a defense against a siege on both levels. If their commander has any sense at all, he'll surrender once the ramps get set up." she said quietly to Eddrick.
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Battle: Northern Reaches Fortress Exterior

The groups carrying the torn sections of ramp used them as shields against archery fire as they made their way to strategic points of access, where they laid them at angles to enable their increasingly superior numbers to charge to the upper level. Covering fire from their own ranks of bowmen returned withering fire on the enemy, forcing them to resort to sporadic shoot-and-dodge tactics, which had negligible impact on the new level of advance by the Imperial forces.

Better served were the infantry to forestall the inevitable. But to prevent the Imperials from tearing down more and more of the walks, the defenders were required to come out from their positions, which opened them up to greater losses as the benefit of stone walls was lost to them. And the more walkways they lost, the more pinned down to their positions they were, their own advantage now being turned against them.

For a while, the upsurge of defending troops from the lower levels stemmed the Imperial tide. But it was not long before the invaders breached the skeleton crews trying to maintain the ground level entries. With the shouts that come from the growing certainty of victory, the northern troops surged past the beaten ground floor enemy to take the defenders on the upper levels from behind.

Then all was lost. The Imperials now had their adversaries pinned front and back, often on interior stairwells where the narrow construction kept them from utilizing any sort of teamwork. So closely hemmed in were they that even sword thrusts gone awry from the intended targets often found secondary targets behind them.

The stairs grew slippery underfoot with the blood of their companions as fallen bodies now added further hindrance to their movement. Many in the front ranks now defended desperately, while at the same time shouting their willingness to surrender if only the Imperials would allow them to do so without cutting them down unarmed.

The end was at hand, only the individual brutalities of each group of antagonists would decide how much longer this would go on. Eddrick could taste fear and victory in the air, and he savored the flavor as he kicked one man into his fellows behind him as they tried to come to his aid. Only the mercy of a swift death would come to give him respite now.
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Battle: Northern Reaches Fortress Exterior

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The battle was winding down fast now. Many of Nashaki's soldiers were just in the military for a decent paycheck and they lacked the fortitude needed to face down the disciplined, well trained legions of The Eternal Empire. Even those in the outer wall began to surrender, and soon it was only the most rabid defenders, who it seemed had all taken up residence in the areas with lower doors, who still fought with the black armored soldiers and their raider allies. Soon it was done, the battle drawing to a close as the last of those who refused to surrender bleeding their last.

Once the fort was securely held and the defenders all either captured or dead, Gardise put the prisoners to work repairing the walk ways, making a mental note that they'd have to fix the access problem on the outer buildings. It was too easy a trap to take advantage of, hell they'd just exploited that weakness themselves. "Find the commander of this rabble, strip his symbols of office. And get a fire going." she said to some soldiers near her. As they did their jobs, she approached Eddrick. "Imperial custom, we burn the symbols of rank for enemy leaders." she said by way of explanation of her orders. "You're welcome to stay for it, if you wish, though we don't require the commanders of hired forces to be in attendance." she said, before waving out at the fort he had just helped them capture. "We'll see to your payment for this battle once things are fully under control, but your men are welcome to join in the looting, so long as there's no fights over things. And of course, any action taken against in earlier battles will not be held against you when the empire controls the Hotlands." she said, her tone official.

Then she smiled slightly at Eddrick. "You're a good commander, Eddrick. If you're willing, we'd be perfectly happy to hire your company again in the future, or you and yours could join us permanently if you wish." she said, as the a soldier came up with a bundle of official looking devices. "Well, it's time for the burning." she said, her tone cheerful as she looked out over the forts and the lands they had claimed thus far. "And another part of Idalos is brought under the light of The Eternal Empire..." she murmured, before she turned to follow the soldier to the fire where the ceremony took place.

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Eddrick Brodon

Points 20/20 [Event Thread]

Leadership: Guiding your men during an ambush
Leadership: Guiding your men during a siege
Leadership: Working with another commander
Intelligence: Noting which direction Avriel have to go for resupply
Tactics: Pulling down walkways to make ramps
Tactics: Turning enemy advantages to your own advantage
Tactics: Taking out enemy reinforcements at the source
Tactics: Using prisoners for dangerous tasks
Tactics: Using an ambush to create a way up a cliff
Politics: The Eternal Empire does not deal in deceit.
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