The Camp of the Dawn (IC)

Sir Aranor thought for a second.

"Well, who knows. First we have to fight this battle. Depending on his actions, we'll knight him and we'll see where it goes from there.

Plus, we have to reorganize the order. And the circle. But you have a good eye Wolf, I was thinking the same thing."

Sir Aranor gazed at the young squire, dressed as a knight.

"He even impressed Varis, that old dog. He shows an intelligence that surpasses his age, and is passionate in his speeches. He would make a fine knight."

Sir Aranor looks at Blaze, then back at Wolf.

"Blaze is dangerous and reckless, Fabien is right about that. But he is probably the most passionate person we have. His moral integrity is unflinching. If he was able to follow me or Rodrick or Mordred with that passion, he would truly become a master warrior. A huscarl of huscarls.

Sure, out of the battle, his manners and words are said sometimes with haste, but when he fights, no man can overcome Blaze's courage and raw fury.

If he and Fabien fought right now, yes Fabien would put up a hell of a fight, he's an experienced man and patient in his blows. But he underestimates Blaze, Blaze is no mere warrior, when he fights he turns into Justice's very sword."

Wolfarmin looked at the ground for while and then at Aranor

"Yes, Blaze is a very passionate man but he doesn't know when enough is enough. He had no right to speak to someone of higher authority in that manor especialy when they're apart of another order and sent by the king aswell. His passion is gaining him infamey through out the orders and if he does not learn to control his tongue I fear he may find himself hated by his own berserkers."

Wolfarmin turned his head to see Blaze and smiled.

"But.... I can understand why he is acting this way, he was a peasant himself and knows how it feels to be considered worthless. For us to take so long to destroy the Red Dawn must be hell for Blaze. He fights for a noble cause and that is why he will win almost all his battles."

Sir Aranor smiles

"In fact, I think that if we didn't attack Javiksholm tomorrow, I think Blaze would assault the city by himself, and wouldn't stop until Gregory was dead himself."

He chuckles

"I wonder where Rodrick is right now. I haven't seen him at the training field or the shrine."

Wolfarmin looked at Aranor

"Yes.... it is very odd for him to not have atleast let his presence be know, I wonder what he is up to."

The Grandmaster walks over towards Fabien and Blaze, the knights all getting on one knee and bowing.

"Sir Fabien, while I am grateful that you would stick up for my honor, you cannot go around and start attacking other knights. Blaze is Sir Rodrick's responsibility, and you don't have any authority over him."

Sir Aranor turns to Blaze

"I am sorry Sir Blaze for this inconvenience, let us all get back to preparing for the battle-at-hand."

Sir Fabien grits his teeth and says through a groan
"I take back what I said Blaze, you didn't deserve that, and I acted out of anger."

Sir Aranor and Sir Fabien leave.

"Fabien, go back to the command tent and make sure all our men and patrols are accounted for."

Sir Aranor looks to the distance, and sees the flags.

Sir Aranor asks a squire to go get commander Renault.
~~~


Sir Aranor takes Sir Wolfarmin with him, and walks up to the commander of the Rangers.

"Well met commander, I see your constable has received my letter. How goes it in Laria?"

As a greeting the slender ranger put his fist to his chest and slightly bowed.

Thank you for your concerns, Sir Aranor. We are doing our best and are confident that the riddle will soon be solved. I bring the Lord Constable's regards and - what seems more important for the matter at hand - some of his troops.
I am Ranger-Captain William Fitzmerwill and with me are 50 Silvermist Rangers. We will do everything to help you take the walls without major losses.

He paused and glanced past Aranor over the tents to where the banner of the Ebony Gauntlet flew.

I would be pleased if you showed us an ... unproblematic spot to set up camp. After that we can discuss all tactical issues. Unless there are urgent matters to be dealt with immediately, that is.

Blaze clenched his fists and nodded. "I admit I have a respect for you, Lord Aranor. Out of that respect, and the obvious reasons, I apologize as well. I let my passions go ahead of me sometimes. I take back what I said as well, Sir Fabien. Sorry."

"Of course captain. There is a spot near the training field that you can camp near."

Sir Aranor beckons forth some squires.

"Please show these rangers where the spot I speak of is."

Sir Aranor once more faces the Ranger-Captain.

"Do you wish to accompany your men to the site, and help them set up camp, or do you want to come straight to my command tent and discuss our plans there?"
--
Sir Fabien, facing Blaze, salutes him with a fist across his chest.

"It is I who is sorry, Blaze. You are my battle-brother, and I shouldn't of said what I said. I did not act in accordance with what a knight of the Dawn should be. Please forgive me, you did nothing wrong. I would be honored to fight with you at your side, any day, against any foe."

I will follow you in a moment, Sir Aranor, Fitzmerwill said. He turned to the ranger holding the Silvermist banner:

Sergeant, follow these squires and set up camp where they show you to. After that half of the men are to construct ballistae, the other half chevaux-de-frise.

He saluted and so did the sergeant. While Fitzmerwill followed Aranor to the command tent, the rangers got in line behind the sergeant and marched off, following the squires.

At the command tent Fitzmerwill greeted those present with a slight bow.

Now, would you care to inform me about the general situation, Sir Aranor?

Sir Aranor spreads his hands over the map on the table.

"The Red Dawn, currently commanded by the renegade bishop Gregory, has taken up residence in the cities of Windholm and Javiksholm. They represent the insanely radical sadistic side of our order. They are burning any who get in their way. They have also taken up residence in Ironoak castle. My spies obtained information that they are recruiting the peasants as militia, and the lord there welcomed them.

The remaining Dawn, new and old, have formed an alliance against them. We have patrols ranging across the Fierdsvain to stop them from burning any villages, and we have informed the lords of Valonbray and Avendor to look to their borders.

We have come here, to strike the first blow. We have several other orders assisting us.

As you saw on your way in, we have called the Ebony Gauntlet here, due to their goals of protecting humanity, from all threats.

They have 50 knights here, about half of them are in the city now, on an infiltration.

The Griffons are here, along with the Dragons. The Griffons are royal observers, and are gathering proof of the Red Dawn's crimes. They are also, to my knowledge, taking care of Windholm.
The Dragons are also observers, but they are also guarding the northern borders."

Sir Aranor put his finger on Javiksholm.

"Here is where we will finish it, where it all began. Thank you for your assistance Ranger. Your ballistae and your bows will come in handy. Did you bring your own wood to build them, or are you taking them from the village stockpile? I am paying the village elder for all our expenses, and I just need to know for logistics' sake.

Generally we cut some small trees for this and we have brought the thickest beams along, but having some cut wood at hand would certainly be useful.

He paused for a moment and observed the map of Javiksholm on the table and the notes attached to it.

On the journey here I had quite some time to think about how I'd storm a city. You might laugh at the thought of a slender ranger in light armour trying to storm a gatehouse and I'd laugh at myself if I tried that, but I've come to the conclusion that storming a fortified place is just like deliberately walking into an ambush. Your enemy has plenty of time to prepare the place, there can be traps everywhere and unexpected foes behind each corner. And if there is one thing we are good at, it's ambushes. So the trick now is to turn the tables in this ambush, outwit the enemy, evade their traps, attack them where they don't expect you to attack. We need to find out where the obvious and the hidden weaknesses of Javiksholm's defenses are. The Red Dawn will certainly have taken measures to compensate for the former, but still this should be to our advantage, while we strike using the hidden weaknesses.

Well, enough for theory. I will be so bold as to tell you of my thoughts, which you can of course just ignore, if they do not seem useful to you.

He pointed to the south-western district of Javiksholm on the map.

They will most likely expect an attack on the south-eastern section of the wall that is in ill repair since the bombardment in the unification wars, thus especially reinforcing the district behind it with additional troops. We should at first support this misconception by sniping the archers off the walls in this section in particular and having one or two ballistae keep them under fire. After some time, during which the Red Dawn hopefully has sent more troops to the south-eastern district, our rangers should unremarkably be replaced by less skilled archers and quickly move to the gate farthest away from the south-eastern wall section - the northern gate, where most of your troops should lie in waiting. Our rangers are exceptionally fast runners and should be able to reach the northern gate before the Red Dawn notices the difference. Under cover of our rangers your troops could then storm the walls and quickly take the gate house, giving your mounted troops access to the city, while we occupy the gate house, taking the adjacent districts under fire.

So much for my first thoughts. Independent of how you think about them, there are some other issues, that we should talk about:

Javiksholm's sewers must lead somewhere out of the city, and due to the stench I assume the exit is not right in the harbour, but either outside the city, or - what seems most likely - in the tannery district, where the stench would not even be noticed. As the tannery can be accessed by sea, one could try to infiltrate the city via the sewers, thus dodging any gates and walls, although only non-mounted troops would be viable for this.

As the Red Dawn presumably relies on its mounted forces just as much as you do, having a certain amount of portable chevaux-de-frise at hand to block main roads against cavalry charges would be useful.

Apart from that, was there anything in particular you had planned for us to do?

Sir Aranor smiles
"The rumor rings true. Do not worry captain, the Dawn is open to your opinions."

"As you can see, we don't have many archers, except for the regiment that just came in from Valonbray. Your purpose was going to be to cover our troops in the city, via the walls. The other reason I brought you here is because we know of the tactical brilliance many of you rangers possess."

Sir Aranor points towards the tannery.

"We had merchant ships ferry the siege equipment here. If I get Rodrick's OK on using them, I can perhaps provide a bigger distraction with the ships. I don't recall any anti-sea weapons on Javiksholm's docks, but we still must be careful. I have ground troops that can undertake the task, my only worry is where they will end up. I can't afford getting my troops disconnected from us, surrounded by enemies."

Sir Aranor points towards the eastern gatehouse.

"If my troops inside the city don't open the gates for us by dawn, I shall give the call to send forth the ladders we have assembled, covered by our militia archers. When our troops storm the walls and take the gatehouse, we can do the switch, the militia archers will march to the southern gate, while the Silvermists sprint up. You can then take to the walls, and hopefully snipe the knights that will come for us while we make a foothold in the city."

Sir Aranor points towards the northern gatehouse.

"We are currently planning to divert the Red Dawn's attention here as well. We have gathered supplies and horses to stage a mock cavalry charge led by a group of squires. That, combined with your attack, will either
1. Split the enemy between those two gates
2. They'll think that the western gate is the real attack, and come there, letting you thin out the east wall and let us take that district quick.
or 3. They will think that the eastern attack, is actually the real attack, and then we can storm the northern gate and flank them."

"May you have one of your men instruct the squires and peasants on how to make the chevaux-de-frise? And how many, do you suggest that we make? I would think 10 or 15 to be a good number."

"What say you ranger?"

Sir Aranor waves in a squire.

"Bring back Rodrick, don't take no for an answer, tell him it's of the upmost importance."

Sounds like a decent plan to me, but to make sure I got everything right ...

He produced a piece of parchment and a quill and quickly copied the wall structures from the map of Javiksholm, then marked the attack directions on the copy.

Copied Map:

Is that how you intended it, Sir Aranor?

"Yes."

Very well, we shall support the feint on the southern walls and then quickly join your forces at the eastern gate. As soon as you have taken the gate house we will take position there and take the adjacent district under fire. Where do you want the ballistae to be used? We should be able to build five of them until tomorrow.

I understand the streets are broad, so five to six chevaux-de-frise would be needed to block them. As you have plenty of men available, we should be able to craft around 30 of them, so you can fortify whatever districts of the city you take. Have you also thought about making mantlets?

A squire comes to Sir Aranor's ear, and whispers something.

"Ok good."

"Captain, we have about 200 men coming in from the east, they can help you make the siege equipment. Including the mantlets."

"Squire, come bring Sir Varis."

"For the ballistas, I would like them brought up with the main attack. They would make the taking of the gatehouse much more easier. The Gauntlets shall man them."

Sir Aranor then looks the Ranger-Captain in the eye.

"Captain, can I depend on your men to cooperate with the gauntlets during this battle?"

~~~~~~

The standard of the 3rd Company fluttered over the tent of Sir Varis, its blazen sun over a purpore tincture. Squire Damien approached the entrance, two of the Vindicator's guard crossed their arms in salute.

"Captain Varis is awaiting your presence," the guard said, making way for the squire.

As the Squire entered, he politely stood aside, watching the Judicator as he traced his finger over his face. The scar had returned to its former state, with no evidence of ever changing.

Varis turned and smiled politely, "I assure you that whatever you heard is false, and that rumor is only for the women, not knights Squire Damien." He stood before the messenger and asked him to deliver his message. "So what does the Grandmaster wish of me?"

Damien kneeled "The Grandmaster requests your presence in the command tent."

(permission to call on him given by Varis.)

Fitzmerwill's face changed to a stern expression but he nodded.

It seems we're on the same side in this conflict and the chance of success is increased if we work together. I just hope the Gauntlet thinks similarly.

Could you send the reinforcements right to our camp, so we can start building the equipment immediately?

Sir Aranor nods

"I'll also requisition some more wood and materials from the village elder."

Excellent. If you excuse me now?

"Of course captain. Also, if any of your men worship Astraea, we are holding services near the edge of the village at the shrines. Blessings of Astraea upon you ranger."

Sir Aranor then sent requisition orders to the village elder, requesting enough materials to build all the siege equipment required.

As Fitzmerwill left the tent, word reaches Sir Aranor of a group of Griffon knights approaching from their camp to the east. Rumours spread throughout the camp quickly that word from the capital may have arrived. When the men arrive, they are quickly escorted to the command tent where Aranor continued to make battle preparations. One of the men, the only one to arrive mounted, was immediately recognizable as Renault. Who had become a familiar face to the Dawn's Grandmaster over the past several days. He was helped from his horse by an equally recognizable face, Sir Darlion.

Clad in the well-worn armour of his Order, it was clear the Grandmaster had not come for an idle chat. Once Renault was secure on the ground, the two made their way into the tent. With the remaining men that accompanied them waiting outside. Darlion was the first to speak.

"Sir Aranor, the king is sufficiently satisfied that his subjects are in peril while the Red Dawn faction remains in power. As such, the Griffons have been granted permission to assist you in the matter, as well as the Dragon Knights working with us. I have my engineers inspecting your siege engines already, and Renault here will be joining them shortly."

In reply, Renault simply nodded, preferring to let his Grandmaster speak. Darlion then continued, less formally.

"I see quite a bit of interest has been taken by the other Orders. Of course, whether that'll make things easier or harder has yet to be seen. How are the preparations coming along?"

Sir Aranor takes off his Barclay plumed helmet and places it on the table.

"It is good that word has finally arrived."

Sir Aranor greets Sir Darlion with a fist across his chest.
"Preparations are going along smoothly, 300 men are coming in. 200 militia from our Dawnbreak Keep (codename for the hill fort in hex:21) and 100 men coming in from Valonbray. We have also enlisted the aid of several orders, namely the Silvermist and the Ebony Gauntlets. The Dragons and the Eventide have been informed of the situation.

We have set to work on constructing siege equipment we would need, besides the siege equipment we have already brought. The Silvermists are helping us on the siege equipment. Defences have been set up around the camp to ward off any suprise attacks."

Sir Aranor puts his hands on the map, specifcally on Javiksholm.

"We currently have set up a three pronged strike. The Silvermists shall make a feint on the southeastern side, hopefully drawing away a good portion of the enemy, while a number of squires make a mock cavalry charge on the northern gate. The real attack shall be made on the western gate. If my spies in the city are unsuccessful in opening the gates by Dawn, we shall storm the gatehouse, using our ballistae and ladders to quickly seize it and let us in."

Sir Aranor motions to the squires and knights in the room.
"Spread word that the King is going to assist us, i'll make a speech later."

After all the lesser knights and squires of the Dawn left the room, Sir Aranor puts his finger on Windholm, and looks at Sir Darlion"I trust your forces are taking care of it?"