[center][h3]Sea of (now) Frozen Tears[/h3]
[b]Battle on the Ice[/b][/center]

The oceans have turned to vast, open fields of glistering ice, the waves crystalized into solid form. This would otherwise be a pretty magnificent and enjoyable view, but unfortunately both fleets are stuck in the ice, that of the Eodaen Royalists and Leofric’s rogue fleet both. Just as they were about to face off in a great naval battle.

[i]"By the might of Xeaxaenot!"[/i] Thane Aelfgar called out from ontop the Herald of the Golden Acorn, his fleet’s flagship. [/i]"Our ship’s only stuck in the ice because some of you fools have not sacrificed enough acorns!"[i]

[i]"Is there anything other than acorns that squirrels eat? i’ve not actually delved into squirrel diet, to be honest."[/i]

The swords of Badastan find themselves in a mighty inconvenience, for they were just about to engage the pirates. He takes in a whiff of the cold salty sea air, and seeing no sign of the ships being thawed out any time soon, the Thane opts for resolute and desperate decision making. He points his seax dagger at the opposite fleet: [i]‘’Get off the ships you fools, we’ll just have to walk over to them, and take them on the ole’ fashioned! way!’’[/i]

[i]“By the grace of God!”[/i] Earl Leofric shouted from atop the Storm’s Herald, his personal ship. [i]“Our ships must be stuck in the ice because a few of you lot haven’t mutilated enough squirrel priests!”[/i]

[i]“I’m sure that’s the reason, my lord…”[/i] Aella muttered beside him, and they both shared a smirk.

[i]“By God, are they… climbing off the ships?”[/i] Leofric asked in bewilderment.

[i]“They are indeed,”[/i] Aella confirmed. “You want to head down to meet them?”

[i]“We could do that,”[/i] Leofric acknowledged. [i]“And we’d make fools of ourselves, slipping and sliding about, before ultimately coming to a bloody and unnecessary clash in the middle....”[/i] he shrugged. [i]“Or, we could amuse ourselves by watching them make fools of themselves, while we wait here and stab them as they climb up.”[/i] He made a downward stabbing motion with his hand.

Aella nodded. [i]“Crew, grab weapons and prepare to be boarded!”[/i]

Meanwhile, Leofric stepped down from the quarterdeck and walked up to the prow of his ship, stepping past Peric who hefted a boarding axe, as oarsmen abandoned oars for spears and swords. [i]“Is that… is that who I think it is?”[/i] He cupped both hands to his mouth and leaned over the railing.

[i]“AELFGAR! HOW’S THE WIFE!?”[/i]

The charging Thane at the fore of his warband pauses when he recognises the familiar voice. 
[i]"Whats that? That you, Leofric? I should have known you were behind the pirate attacks. Damn bastard, you haven't changed at all.
Childhood friend or no, you will be brought to justice for your crimes, you nutter. 

Don't make me come up there and manhandle you back to Eodaland!"[/i]

[i]“Manhandle me? It’d be a long walk, across all this ice!”[/i] Leofric called back, and despite both the danger and insanity of the situation, some of his crew laughed. [i]“You’ll starve before then. You’ll have to eat your precious squirrels to survive! But yes, I might come down. How does single combat sound!?”[/i]

Moving nearer, Aelfgar eyes his former friend with a dismissive glare. 
[i]"It's not the old days anymore, friend. Now I stand before you as thane of the King, and therefore am in no position for thine wordcraft haggling."[/i]

He raises his Seax and shield as a man prepared to let metal sing his final words. [i]"You and your misfit ilk have felled defenseless Demon-Squirrel Priests, Leofric. You will be made to answer for this sacrilege here and now!"[/i]

As he speaks, Leofric observes Aelfgar's band of warriors preparing to encircle the Storm’s Herald. Some of the frozen waves have left an upwards slope, which they have recognised as the perfect (if predictable) vantage point to board it from. Warbands from the royal fleet are all the while creeping towards the other ships in Leofric’s fleet, carrying with them harpoons and javelins. 

Aelfgar continued over the ice until halting directly before the bow of Leofric’s ship, now looking him in the eye through his Sutton Hoo helmet. [i]"In spirit of our Eodaen kinship, I shall show lenience: lay down your arms now and come along peacefully to answer for your crimes. I swear you; Badastan is a man of mercy... I will put in a good word for your sake to receive but light punishment.’’[/i]

While Aelfgar’s men advanced, Leofric’s own crew had not been idle. Perhaps twenty or so archers and crossbowmen came to stand by him. Aella and Peric had identified the potential vantage points, and were sending warriors to form lines facing those directions. The Captains of Leofric’s fleet were all of a similar mind, waiting upon some sort of signal from Leofric’s ship to act.

The self-proclaimed Lord-Captain smiled. [i]“That’s a generous offer. But I have to say, Aelfgar, I don’t quite understand this talk of friendship.”[/i] He stroked his chin. [i]“I might be misremembering, but I seem to recall being friendlier with your wife…”[/i] he shrugged. Perhaps it was a bluff, perhaps it was not. 

What came next, however, almost certainly was not. 

[i]“LOOSE!”[/i]

Nearly two dozen arrows and bolts flew from the Storm’s Herald, peppering Aelfgar’s men. The other captains of the fleet took this as a call to action, and began to unleash barrages of their own. As for Leofric, his smile vanished and he retreated back to safety, drawing his sword as he waited for the enemy to board.

The Eodaen royalists, flabbergasted, could only just seek cover behind their shields. Some of them wailed and howled in pain as arrows struck true, and yet others were felled, the ice beneath them turning red. Aelfgar depended on his men’s superior numbers to overpower the rogues and could afford the losses. 

After the pirates had drawn first blood, the royal Thane spoke no further, and signals the attack. [i]"Smoke them out." [/i]

Squadrons of men, shields raised against arrow fire, trot towards the first row of frozen ships in the pirate fleet while archers of their own loose volleys of suppressing fire.

The Thane calls for his own battalion of battle hardened housecarls to seize the Storm's Herald, by climbing the frozen wave sloping directly against it when it was rocking the ship. It is the perfect vantage point - - too perfect, the obvious direction of attack. Accordingly, Leofric wisely positioned his men to take stance to hold off the attackers with a wall of spears. As forces collide, their spears jab against the housecarl shields in vain, causing others among the pirates to opt aiming for their uncovered legs. Noble blood drips on the ice, but Badastan's elite close in determined, their minds addled and drugged by mushrooms. And using their superior weight, heavy mail and shields they bash into the smaller cohort of spears. When hand to hand combat commences they jab their Seaxes at the spearmen. Sparks fly as metal meets. Blood stains the ice where the children of God and Squirrel-demon do battle. 

The other ships were similarly assailed by warbands. Slowly moving, under constant fire and amid their little castles of shields on the treacherous slippery ice. 

When reaching enemy hulls, they flung up harpoons in attempts to board the ships from different angles, though this had little effect, serving as little more than a diversion. For Leofric’s crew simply hacked away at them with axes and swords until they broke or were dislodged, causing the men climbing the ropes to fall back to the ice.

Some even used their longaxes to beat holes in the hulls under cover of shields in attempts to make the ships unseaworthy by the time the fleet thaws out. Or at least, that is what they'd hoped. Others were observed smearing the hull with a greasy substance. The squirrel-worshippers were trying out all sorts of devious schemes, it would seem.

This battle was to be a prolonged and slow bloody grind, but Aelfgar wouldn't have it. He was blessed by the King, for Squirrels Sake! And so the thane appeared amid the housecarls boarding the Storm’s Herald as they carved their way through the spearmen. Kill Leofric, the head of the snake, and the battle will be determined swiftly. 

[i]"Craven Leofric! Come forth and save your puny men, heretical worm!"[/i] He yelled from the group of men locked in battle.

[i]“I’m right here, you fool!”[/i] Leofric shouted, wrenching his blade free some a man who stood between him and Aelfgar. With Peric and Aella guarding his flanks from any who would intervene, Leofric strode forward to meet the rival captain in single combat.

Spotting Leofric, the Thane’s eyes lighted up and he sprung forth... as men on both sides quickly parted to make way, for they could tell their commanders were about to meet. Holding a great round shield in one hand, and a brandishing Seax sword in the other, Aelfgar made a deft swipe for Leofric’s throat.

Leofric swatted the weapon aside with a contemptuous parry, before responding with an attack of his own...

For the next ten minutes, the Royal Thane and the Rogue Earl did battle in name and sight of their respective deities, and the onlooking men, some of whom paused fighting to watch, cheer and revel.

All the while bloody struggles took place on and nigh the other ships. When the men on the Storm’s Herald smelled and observed smoke, one of the Squirrel-worshipper’s machinations had been revealed. Some of them managed to ignite the hulls of some two or three of Leofric’s longboats by smearing them with pigfat they had carried along! Men on the flagship were bewildered by this turn of event, even among the Royalist crew.

Aelfgar smirks, still panting from the exhaustive hand-to-hand combat with the more than capable Leofric.  [i]‘’The day is ours, traitor. Surrender now, and I might still stroke over mine golden heart and show mercy…!’’[/i]

Elsewhere, the crew on the burning longships did not stand idly by while their ships caught fire. They instead brought out heavy barrels of water, rum, tar, or provisions, and rolled them down the slopes of the frozen waves that touched their ship, clearing the slopes of attackers as most were inevitably knocked down and sent sprawling across the ice.

With weapons in hand, the defenders did not hesitate to seize the advantage: they slid down the slope after them, stabbing and slashing them before they could get back up. But landing on the ice, many of the selfsame attackers slipped and fell down themselves. A clumsy death-and-life grapple followed as both enemies tried to get up. 

Meanwhile, as Leofric looked his foe in the eye, he decided he would not dignify Aelfgar’s demand with a response. He delivered a feint, making to thrust at Aelfgar’s leg, but then he suddenly gripped his weapon by the blade, hooked Aelfgar’s shield with the crossguard, pulled it down, and then jabbed the pommel up into Aelfgar’s throat.

Aelfgars reflexes were slowed from exhaustion, and as he tried to duck backwards was struck on his jaw. The blow was forceful enough that his Sutton Hoo helmet flew off, revealing Aelfgar’s lean face and red hair, as his ornamental helmet rolled away over the ship’s deck. The Thane was knocked to the ground, blood dripping from his chin as Leofric walked up, and pointed his blade at Aelfgar’s throat. [i]“Yield!”[/i] he commanded.

Rubbing the blood and saliva off his face, Aelfgar slowly and hesitantly relinquished hold of his seax and shield, and raised his open hands with an affirmative grunt. The defeated Thane looks from the corner of his eyes to his men. The housecarls, though initially successful in beating off the spearmen and seizing much of the flagship’s deck, were losing ground as the first casualties had dropped, and dead from both sides lay prostrate and mutilated on board. 

Most other royalist warbands had been repulsed, and in total, but two of Leofric’s longboats had been captured by the Royalists. Though Aelfgar had been bested, his warriors fought on… Until there rang a deep voice from afar:
[i]‘’Stop!’’[/i]