Lucius Cypher

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After getting his wound treated, Malakaus took stock of what he had to work with. He had about sixty-seven orcs including himself, though the reinforcements were not riders. They seemed to have been a coalition of various small clans sending a mix of experienced and newer warriors. He could tell from their equipment; the older ones had their own shields, spears, and armor, while the younger lads barely had shirts and warclubs. Fortunately the plunder from the weapon caravan would help even out the differences as steel was distributed evenly. Organizing his troops by their abilities, he had twenty-seven boar riders with black bows who can skirmish and provide long-range attacks, with thirty warriors who could serve as as foot soldiers to push back the infantry and hold ground. There were ten warriors in particular who seemed even more experienced than the rest, as they had a combination of battleaxes and greatswords of excellent craftsmanship. When Malakaus spoke to them, they apparently were the sons and even chiefs of some of the smaller clans, which would explain their superior equipment.

Still, that doesn't mean they were invincible. For all of their strength, orcs were still mortals and die from wounds as much as any other man, dwarf, or elf would. And these men were not trained under Malakaus, so he can't expect them to follow his commands or know his strategies. He needed to work with their strength as oppose to forcing them to work with his. With that in mind, his strength was in shooting. So as he had his men gather up in different mobs, he went to see his second-in-command, Torkin Yarick. A son of the current Vorinclex chieftain, and one of Malakaus's closer friends. Despite being a full-blooded orc he had a similar size and build as Malakaus, which in orc society may as well be weedy and weak. But because of that, he and Malakaus shared the same interest of using cunning over brutality. In fact it was Torkin's idea to construct the Warwolf, and he's really the only orc here who knew how to use it well. Even Malakaus only has a vague idea of how to construct it, let alone operate it.

"Torkin, nyz tyim dni Warwolf cyyg?

"Ryd dy pet pymm. U zumn zi syoct secuphedi ud zudn myli dimd mnydm wuhmd, pod U gryz zi ser'd humg ud zudn dni irila my scymi dy dni suda. Nefi dy legi ifiha mnyd syord huknd?"

"Dned zi ty. Pod U dhomd ayoh mgucc. Ayo'fi piir bhesdusurk zudn dni ydnih lyticm piwyhi, my ayo'hi dni pimd pid zi nefi. Zi'cc ceorsn yod riqd emmeocd myyr my pi bhibehit dy eddesg yr la syllert. Znir U pcyz dni iekci nyhr, dned'm znir U riit ayo dy mdehd wuhurk. Ert zedsn yod wyh era iriluim em zicc. Dnimi mzelbm ehi ryd yod nyli."

"Yw syohmi pymm. Ciefi ud dy li; U'cc bhydisd dnum selb ert wceddir dy nolerm!"

"Vomd dni lihsirehuim, Torkin. Dni yrim zudnur dni zeccm U zerd dy mbieg zudn."

The two parted ways as the final preparations were made. Malakaus went back to his tent to gear up, putting on his armor, helmet, and gauntlets. His mother handed him his axe, sharpened and oiled, as he went to meet his soldiers. There was an ominous air around them; the dead of night did not make anyone feel particularly eager. The younger orcs were anxious to do battle while the veteran ones were curious to see how Malakaus conducted his battles. They had gathered in groups as he had ordered them to: each of the more well-armed warriors would lead a small team each. Ten warriors each had three orcs, thus allowing them to structure should they get separated from the rest. Malakaus had also split his boar riders into three seperate groups; he would be part of the vanguard of seven others to lead and direct the troops. Ten riders will remain in the camp to assist Torkin operate the Warwolf as well as to guard the camp now that the mercenaries may have gone into the forest to hunt them down. Eight more orcs will remain hidden but near the vanguard to switch out with warriors who run out of ammo or get wounded. Finally, there will be two orcs who's job would be to travel between the different units to give orders or run supplies. This may have seem odd for some of the orcs who are used to just being one massive horde, but broken down to their individual parts it was essentially just small gangs organized by their weapon types. Simple enough for even them to follow.

As they waited for Malakaus, he mounted his boar. His beast had also been treated for wounds and was eager to get his revenge. He turned to his orcs and gave them a rousing speech to encourage them. Off to the side, shaman women were blessing alcohol and passing them to soldiers to drink. It would give them courage in battle and heal their wounds, supposedly. If nothing else it'll numb the pain so they can keep fighting. Malakaus himself received a drink as he raised it up, and the other warriors did the same. "Myyr zi zucc ky ty peddci zudn dni nolerm ed dni suda yw Tamberle. Ur rolpihm dnia ehi khied, pod ecyri dnia ehi zieg ert syzehtca. Vomd em zicc, yfihsyrwutirsi um er urmutuyom guccih. Mdea zudn ayoh phydnihm-ur-ehlm ert ayo zucc mii fusdyha dytea!" Malakaus raised his cup into the air and got a loud and hearty cheer. But he wasn't finished yet.

"Zi ehi ryd nihi dy bcortih. Zi ehi ryd nihi mulbca dy mceokndih. U nefi phyoknd ayo ecc dy dnimi zeccm wyh mylidnurk khiedih dner vomd yoh biybci'm mohfufec yh ifir yoh yzr bihmyrec kcyha. U wuknd wyh yoh wodohim. Weh dy dni ryhdn, yod biybci nefi piir thufir whyl dniuh nolerm pa fuci nolerm. Pod zyhmi mducc zem dned dnihi ehi scerm zny nefi dni eotesuda dy degi noler syur dy pidhea dniuh yzr biybci. Dned dnia zyoct cyzih dnilmicfim dy lihi dyycm ert khyfic uw ud lierm dnia ser cufi erydnih tea. Pod U zucc ryd cid om cufi cugi piemdm! Zudnur dnymi zeccm um e noler zny U ser omi dy hikeur yoh nylicert. Urmdiet yw piurk dni mihferd, zi mnecc pi dni lemdih! Zi mnecc mceokndih dnimi shefirm yodmuti yw dni suda ert whyl dnihi zi zucc pikur yoh syrxoimd dy degi pesg zned um hukndwocca yohm! Dnum um yoh wodohi ryz!"

Malakaus chugged his drink as did the rest of his warriors. They tossed their cups to the ground as soon as they were done, drew their weapons, and turned to march towards the enemy. The alcohol filled their bodies with warmth as Malakaus's words gave them a sense of purpose beyond just the basic thrills of battle and bloodshed. There was something greater than themselves they were fighting for now. By the time the orcs were near the mercenaries, they had already set up wooden walls and begun firing catapults into the city. Malakaus had his foot soldiers wait by the treeline where they had cover against the crossbowmen, who Malakaus could see thanks to his darkvision. He had expected the mercenaries to be more wary now. He also didn't see the corpse of the monster boar, so he guessed it was still alive and simply drawn away elsewhere. A problem for later perhaps. Right now he needed to get his men moving. He sent his foot soldiers to take positions to the east, while he and his boar riders went to the west. When he gives them the signal, that's when they would need to charge.

The walls would make things a bit difficult since the crossbowmen would have cover, but nothing that Malakaus and his men can't handle. Quietly he had the reserve troops switch to flaming arrows while he told his vanguard to take out their oil flasks. Once they were ready they rode out as quickly as possible. It wasn't long before the karsuians heard the hooves and started firing upon Malakaus and his orcs. He made sure they rode in a staggered formation so each rider had room to dodge the arrows. Right now it was important to simply avoid getting hit over trying to return fire. They needed to be closer first, and when they did Malakaus and his riders threw the oil flasks against the wooden walls. The shattering of the clay flasks was the signal for the archers to shoot flaming arrows into the soaking walls, causing them to burst into flames. Malakaus then retreated back into the forest before the crossbowmen could return fire, switching to his war bow and firing a few arrows into the fortifications. Each arrow caused the walls to shake and in some spokes the arrows even took off bits and pieces of wood out. That ought to give the soldiers something to think about.

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Alright, then I guess I'll work off what Zaphander wrote. There's probs still mercs out there being lead by a knight dude who seems to know what he's doing. Since the orcs don't have the element of surprise anymore, they'll need to be more careful about how they deal with the mercs. I'll see about posting something doable, I'm sure the orcs still are outnumbered right now so Malakaus needs to be very careful not to let his younger lads get ahead of themselves.

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@Polybius

That sort of magic eh? Well, suppose I can work with that. Magic tends to be pretty OP whenever people could use it freely anyways, so relying on mortal skills and tactics would be a good change of pace.

Also I didn't think my ambush would've been so effective. I sort of figured there was at least 1000 or so mercenaries, so there's no way Malakaus's puny force of thirty could have killed/driven them all away. Most, sure, but not all of them.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Since Orchid is gunna run in rage a blazing, could he take the hit?

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Orchid will break stealth to avoid the trap, and likely have his sword and shield out at the ready prior to doing so as well. Battle is inevitable so he may as well get ready for it. if possible, I'd like it if he could activate his rage while doing so so he could have it ready before the battle begins.

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@Polybius

Hmm hmm. I’ll be honest I don’t really know the GoT verse enough to know what their magic system is like, but I suppose I have an idea. And as I said the magic I had in mind isn’t exactly fireball throwing, parlor tricks really. Should I just detail them for you to judge or would it be better if no one had magic?

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As Malakaus and his warriors rode away, one of the archers spotted the arrows flying towards him. He shouted out a warning just in time for Malakaus to raise his axe to deflect, though most ended up hitting his boar and his armor instead. Only one arrow managed to even bypass his breastplate, but fortunately the orc's leather tunic underneath blunted the arrow's strike. Thus the bolt only made a small cut into Malakaus's flesh, as oppose to something more serious. His archers returned fire while Malakaus himself remained cool headed, doing his best to control his boar who felt the need to flee now that it's been struck.

The remaining orcs managed to getaway from the battlefield and return to their camp hidden in the swamp. The waters here were far too deep to take horses; they'd end up stuck in the bog and drown. But the battle boars of the orcs were tougher than that, not to mention their body shape and strength made it possible for these creatures to even swim across, even with the orcs on their back. On an open plain horses could easily out run and maneuver around the slow but tough boars, but in these marshy conditions ill suited for cavalry, the rough and rugged boars were more mobile. Not to mention that within the waters themselves were orcish traps; wooden spikes that would impale men or horses that the boars simply swam over, though the orcs also knew the safe path to avoid them anyways.

Malakaus's war camp was sparse; the only ones here were the mothers and sisters of his warriors. They were responsible for maintaining and protecting the camp while the men were away. Even though a female orc was stronger than any human male, orcish society was simply the type that still considered women a lesser gender. Malakaus thought otherwise, but not many females cared for his opinion. They were here for their sons or brothers. They too distrusted Malakaus and his maverick thinking, blaming him for the clan's current exile. But he hopes that this gamble he made allying with Maren will pay off. As he dismounted he went to check on his scouts.

Not all the orcs here were from Malakaus's clan. His people came from further north, and don't normally call the lands around the fire-fens home. While the boars were native to this place, they were different from the bristlebacks more suited the the mountainous region. And so Malakaus made it a point to contact the local orc clan around here to act as guides and scouts. They were not part of any tribe, and in fact seemed to want nothing to do with orc politics. He had to pay quite a hefty sum just to get two orcs who were willing to work with him. But two would be enough.

Garruk was tasked to keep watch on the Karsusian Mercenaries. It was thanks to him that Malakaus even knew what he was up against, and what tents they needed to hit first. It was thanks to Garruk's trained falcons that he could see further than his own eyes. What that meant, Malakaus was not sure. Perhaps it was magic. Or perhaps his falcons were just smart. Either way Garruk had not lead Malakaus astray so he'll trust him. Hew was in charge of counter-intelligence, basically making sure that no one finds this camp. He was certainly magical; when Malakaus first met him, the man already knew his name, his parents, and his plan. Thus Malakaus deduced this man was some sort of seer who uses divination to see into things that mortals cannot. More importantly he made sure that other scouts and assassins never find the camp. Usually through misdirection, though recently a few bodies have been pulled out from the marshes. Hunters paid by the mercenaries.

Meeting with the two, they exchanged words in their orcish tongue. Through them Malakaus learned of two important things: firstly he finally found out who their leader looks like. This would be important if Malakaus wished to claim the glory of defeating this army first. Second, he learned that among the mercenaries is an assassin. Unlike the other ruffian soldiers this man was a far more skilled killer, and certainly knew what he needed to do. Apparently Malakaus's own men had run afoul with him already, though where he was right now, Hew did not know. This concerned Malakaus; it's possible that this assassin might come after him in order to end his raid party before it can do more damage. Or more likely, the assassin has been sent to kill Maren. If she dies, than this entire campaign would be for naught. This put Malakaus in a tough position.

As his men rested Malakaus returned to his tent to debate his next course of action. No doubt the mercenaries would be scrambling to conduct their siege now that their supplies were cut. But they would also know that by doing so, they no longer have the luxury of time. Normally sieges could take weeks, months, or even years of simply camping outside of a fort or castle and bleeding it dry of resources and supplies. After all, that's why the current king had hired a mercenary army to preform the siege, as oppose to his own country's army. Even the new king can't afford to send all of his soldiers to one place for very long. So those mercenaries have to make some progress soon, or before long they'd run out of food to eat, wood to keep warm, and the siege would die in a few days. And now that they know that there are orcs here who would harry them, they would also need to spent time or men to guard their flanks. If they focus entirely on besieging the city, they'd leave themselves open for Malakaus and his warriors to ambush them from behind.

Divide and conquer. That's how the humans defeated the orcs and drove them from their homes. By attacking from multiple angles, the many tribes could not come to eachother's assistance, too busy protecting their own, and one-by-one each was lost. Even now Clan Vorinclex was weak. Having been exiled from the Dark Star Tribe, with Malakaus himself causing his own friction within the clan, they were in a very precarious situation. His failure here could very well mean the death of his people. But at the same time, it was in circumstances like this that the most reward could be gained. If they could simply route those Karsusian mercenaries, the plunder from the battle would turn the tide for his clan. They would be well armed and armored, and more capable of standing up to their enemies. If they could gain the cooperation with the city, they could barter goods and buy better equipment that what could be made or stolen in battle. And finally if Malakaus could forge an alliance with Maren, he would have a credible authority against King Mago. Someone that he could rally his people around to defeat the human king who had taken their lands, so to say. Inevitably some may ask if Maren intended to give Malakaus and his people back the lands her father had taken from them. This wouldn't be easy, but if Malakaus proves his worth to her, it's possible. Certainly a better chance than the orcs trying to take the land back by force.

As Malakaus was thinking about this someone came into his tent. It was his mother. A old, by orc standards, woman with a sunken face but bright eyes. On her back was a black war boar and in her hands was a dead water fowl. The two exchanged a few words, just casual conversation. But she got to the point quickly after: she thinks Malakaus should return home. Thirty men would not be enough to take on the enemy, even after the damage they caused today. At best even if they could route the Karsusian, many orcs would die. And even if Malakaus was the sole survivors, the humans in the city would simply finish him off to remove two birds with one stone. This is despite how Malakaus's mother looked at the banner by his bed. The banner of Aeon Archange. She truly loved the man, and only because of her people did they have to part. But he was dead now, and Malakaus was alive. And she wanted Malakaus to live. This thing he wanted to do, to unit his people with the humans, it was a fantasy. A mere dream. Such a thing could not happen in reality.

These were things that Malakaus has heard a lot. Being a half-orc people seem to think he's some sort of myth, a mistake. That there was no way orcs and humans could genuinely work together. People have said the cruelest things just to disprove Malakaus's hope and existence. Things like his father simply raped his mother as a show of human domination. Or that his mother was just a whore with a taste for man flesh. Or that he was actually just another bastard of the man orcs who would ravage human women unfortunate enough to be kept as slaves after a raid. So many terrible things just so they could be protectively jaded at the idea that somehow, things could have been better if they had simply given it a chance. But Malakaus was different from them. He would take that chance. It was his destiny.

There was good news. Another women entered Malakaus's tent with news of supplies that came in. More orcs from Clan Vorinclex had come to assist, and they had brought valuable plunder with them: steel weapons. The reinforcements had intercept and raided a weapon's caravan that was suppose to supply the mercenaries. With this his orcs would be better armed to cut through the armor of the Karsusian soldiers. The arrows could easily punch through even the toughest of plate armor with their black bows. And there was still Malakaus's secret weapon. As he left the tent to go see the new weapon shipment, he passed by his mightiest weapon of all; the War Wolf. A mighty trebuchet that took him and his few loyal orcs at least five months to complete. Bringing it here without anyone noticing was the hardest part. But now it was near in completion and ready to wage war against his enemies. If the Karsusian attacked now, even in preparation of Malakaus's horde, they would never suspect that orcs of all things would have a siege weapon capable of sending a two hundred kilogram projectile nearly five hundred meters away. And with the scouts Malakaus had hired, he was confident that he could easily strike the Karsusian's before they knew what hit them.

Things were looking better by the minute but Malakaus would not let himself relax. Such arrogance was what caused the collapse of his people in the first place, and disaster could strike at any minute. His men would need to be ready to sally forth soon. He'd have to leave a few behind to guard the camp as well as to operate the siege weapon, while Malakaus himself needed to lead his men back to battle. He trusted his second-in-command to take care of things here. Soon the camp was abuzz with activity as warriors rearmed themselves, ate their rations, and tended to their wounds. Malakaus himself had taken off his armor to deal with the bolt that had struck him. His mother brought over some medicine and clean bandages.

"Soon... This battle will be over. And the war will begin."

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@Polybius

I'm kinda curious, what sort of magic would be in this verse? I mean I suppose boar big enough to ride on and larger is magical, but in terms of personal spells and such? I was actually planning on Malakaus to know a few spells, granted they aren't anything very fancy or flashy. But he does know them.

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This is Malakaus's look. He's a half-orc so he's not quite as burly and big as the others. he has far more human proportions with only some orcish details, such as greenish skin, red eyes, etc. He wears a mask to hide the fact he also has very human teeth, something that makes most orcs make fun of him. For the longest time he was known as "Toothless" because of it.

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The battle was going well so far as Malakaus and his riders continued to harry any fleeing soldiers into the path of the the Erymanthian Spawn. They cut down soldiers, armed or not, and set fire to many tents. However as they rode a two of his warrior came up to Malakaus. One appeared to have lost his leg and was bleeding from his head, while the one who carried him seemed worried. He spoke of how a warrior had wounded his friend, and how another one of the riders was also lost to the same warrior. This panic in the orc's voice only made Malakaus annoyed. "Lufynt! Drec ec fyn! Uv luinca oui'mm kad rind! Un ajah gemmat ev oui tuh'd vummuf so untanc." Again, many of these warriors were young and untested. They knew they fought against soldiers but were confident thanks to Malakaus's careful tactics giving them an advantage. The fact some of those soldiers were now trying to fight back seemed to scare them, but Malakaus will make sure they have worse things to fear than just the soldiers.

"Oui yna ymm aqbaneahlat rihdanc cu oui ghuf ruf drec fungc! Y lunhanat yhesym ec dra sucd tyhkanuic uha yht fa ryja draca bedevim janseh dnybbat!" The orcs seemed to take Malakaus's word as a challenge. They were not cowards, or at least they would not admit to being one. However Malakaus knew his words alone would not be sufficient to convince them. They needed a show of bravado, an epic deed to follow. Simply riding about cutting down fleeing soldiers or shooting arrows at unsuspecting fighters won't instill confidence. They needed something much more flashy.

Malakaus shouted to his second-in-command, a rather burling looking orc raider, to take his banner and to continue strafing and herding soldiers into the path of the Erymanthian Spawn. Malakaus himself drew his battleaxe, a wicked weapon of his own make, and charged into the camp. Unlike some of his fellow riders he made sure to not be near any tents were a random soldier could come out and ambush him. No, instead he actually followed the trail of destruction made by the monstrous boar ravaging the camp. Right now it was still rampaging, but it was about to run into a large pike wall. Even for it's strength, those spears could do some serious damage to the Erymanthian Spawn. But Malakaus wasn't going to let that happen.

He lowed his body as he spurred his boar forward, charging towards the pikeline. A sucidal move for any sort of cavalryman. But this was where human horse riders and orc boar riders were different. Despite seeing the wall of spikes in front of it Malakaus's boar did not slow down at all. And just as a pile would've skewed it through the eye, the boar flicked it's head to the side and knocked the pike away using it's massive tusks. Suddenly there was an opening within that spear wall as Malakaus's boar gored a pikeman, while the half-orc himself swung his battleaxe and decapitated another soldier. All of this happened right after Malakaus and managed to outrun the Erymanthian Spawn, and caused just enough of a shock to the pike line that the boar was able to run them over, taking only a few superficial injuries in the process.

A group of soldiers were trying to arm a siege weapon to slay the boar, but they too would find their end at Malakaus's axe as he cleaved two bodies in twain. Seeing their commander capable of destruction of their own, showing them that he was not some craven who expected his orcs to simply die on his behalf, Malakaus' young warriors found renewed vigor and would soon come and join Malakaus's rampage. They followed the second's command to continue torching tents and destroying as much supplies and fortifications as possible, attacking the soldiers only as Malakaus directed them. Once the warlord had joined back up to his troops properly, he commanded them to fall back as the Erymanthian Spawn was on it's way. The smoke still covered it's body and was creating a choking cloud of smog that would blind the soldiers in the camp, creating further chaos. It'll also make it harder for Malakaus and his warriors to actually fight, since they too needed to be able to see and breath. For now they had wrought enough destruction to call for a retreat. Many soldiers wanted to loot the dead but Malakaus roared at them; they can come back to loot once the Erymanthian Spawn was gone. For now they needed to return to their camp, tend to their wounded, and prepare for the next battle.

Before Malakaus would leave he made sure to raise his banner up on high for Maren to see. So far there hadn't been any arrows from the city walls, but Malakaus wasn't sure if that was because she trusted him to deal with these mercenaries, or simply because she hoped they would slay one another first. Either way Malakaus and his surviving rides would leave the battlefield for now, returning to their camps and getting ready for the next fight.