[M] Siege of Joetel

[Tolvo]

Destrin and his warriors had their work cut out for them. His spies had given him the heads up of a large force heading to Joetel. At first they weren't quite sure what was happening. The dead had apparently come back to life. There were reports in the far North of this just getting back to them, apparently the Deathborne as they are called had made a huge landing in the North and were taking the lands by force. On the open seas Destrin had sent his own ships to intercept and harass them. But with such little time they couldn't mobilize a large portion of the navy. Instead they skirmished at sea and did what they could before retreating. Then came the other concern, the Southern Alliance had been broken. A massive Dominion army was heading for them at the same time.

Destrin then had his soldiers resort to guerrilla warfare tactics. All the way to the city the Deathborne were barraged by siege engines that were set up at interval points along with arquebusiers that always retreated. A portion were chased down by Deathborne and Dominion cavalry but Destrin's methods did have an impact.

On the walls of Joetal the defenders stood their ground. The siege had already started. Cannons from afar were being set up while the enemy prepared to march to the walls. King Joeseph, a haggard looking noble, stood among a group of his knights in a tower overlooking the front gate. Below the streets were full of soldiers mobilizing, peasants were being rounded up to fight as necessary while those who couldn't were huddled in their homes, churches, and even the keep itself to protect as many as possible from harm. Baron Destrin had arrived earlier to help with the defenses and join in the siege.

"Oh my god! It's true, the walking dead!" Joeseph was astounded by the shambling army of dead that stood at the front. He turned to Destrin and slapped his own breastplate. "Baron I've heard of your exploits! What do we do here! How do we kill the dead, when they're already dead? I know you're some kinda tactician so I want your input. And if you fail me, well, I'll have ya executed!" He let out a hearty laugh and slapped Destrin on the shoulder. "Just kidding, but seriously dozens of thousands of lives are at stake here. Normally I'd just run out and pound the enemy into dust, but I have a feeling the dead change things."

[Eddren]

Destrin was a lord, now. He was supposedly a great man. A tactician. He'd seen many foes trodden before his boots. So damn it, he would stand the high ground and bite his tongue rather than snort 'I told you so' to his superiors for trying to ally with the Southern Dominion. He knew from the beginning that it was every country for itself. Thankfully, Grecious was more than capable of infiltrating the ranks of the Dominion. He'd be well capable of building a spy network there. This...Army of the dead, however, was another matter.

As he had entered the city, he had to shake his head. Peasants wouldn't be useful. Not at all. Not for this kind of war. A few of 'em would prove to be hardened, but most of them would just die, and this wasn't a battlefield where the dead men slept. Not for long, anyway. He'd have to keep the Lord from using the people as a weapon. It'd only end up slitting their own throats.

"An army o' tha dead, sure as tha sun rises." He leaned on the battlements and watched the cannons set up. "Don't mind those too much. Ah'll 'ave those knocked out right-fast. Cannons're only good if our asses're stuck on tha walls, an' luckily fer you--Ah spent tha whole time fightin' that Destruin, learnin' how ta ignore walls an' shite like that."

Destrin nodded, "An' yer right, ya are. About needin' ta fight different. First thing's first. Our advanced stuff? Tha rifles? Tha cannons? Tha only time ya deploy those are in places where ya know ya can either destroy them, or get them back." He turned to the man and looked him straight in the eye, "Seriously. Mark those fuckin' words. If they get rifles an' cannons in large numbers, we're fucked." He turned back to the map, and gestured to the inside of their lines. "Now, they're gunna be killin' our men, left an' right. That usually makes more soldiers for 'em, an' that's great. Fer us. Let 'em 'ave our soldiers." He grinned, then.

"Ah've got corrupters on standby, an' as much fuckin' gunpowder as ah could get my 'ands on. What we're gunna do, is every time one o' our soldiers die, we're gunna tie up their corpses, see. An' we're gunna wrap 'em up, nice an' easy, an' put pouches o' gunpowder all over 'em, with musket shot inside. Don't ask 'ow it works, 'cause it'd take too long ta explain, but we'll preserve tha powder an' tha body, an' shoot it back fuckin' at 'em. The corpses are thrown ta tha enemy lines 'afore they can kill our men, an' they send one last 'fuck you' afore they blow up."

He then pointed to the enemy lines, "But that's only goin' ta negate their biggest advantage. Problem is, they still 'ave numbers. An' that means we 'ave work cut out fer us. So, tha next step is simple. We're gunna man tha walls, jus' like if we were tryin' ta jus' outlast a siege. 'Cept me an' some o' my more senior cavalrymen are gunna be usin' Demon Horses ta' harass tha enemy. Droppin' gunpowder on 'em, shite like that. Ah expect that if they've got any long-range capabilities, that's when they'll show 'em. Once that's been done, we pound anywhere where we see long-range shit bein' used. Why? Because it's important fer tha next stage."

Destrin gestured to a row of shields. "Fer this battle, ah've conscripted tha use o' our Shieldguard and other such shielded units. Their job is ta secure a line o' fire fer tha new Mage Musket-men. They're good at firin' inta masses o' units jus' like this, so this should be right up their alley. From the walls, we'll start mountin' Sorcerers from Former Destruin an' throwin' fire inta tha mix. Note that ah'm not usin' any pikes er swords er maces er shite like that. Mark it down. From now on, yer gunna need ta start producin' muskets. Cannons. Shite like that. Start drillin' yer soldiers on destroyin' any musket from a fallen soldier. It should be second nature ta them. From now on, we don't get close ta tha undead. We don't touch tha undead. We don't deploy soldiers from our walls until their long-range capabilities are cut off. Ya got it? Treat this like a plague. We burn tha family. We burn tha building. And we never, never touch tha afflicted. We do it right, an' casualties'll be minimum an' maybe--MAYBE--We win."

He paused, "If they send out anythin' we're not expectin', if they 'ave some sort o' ambush ready, ah've got tha Aqueduct Snakes on standby. They use chains an' pipes. Against enemies like this, that should be enough. They won't break, an' they're bloodthirsty as all 'ell. If ya need support somewhere and ya need it right fuckin' then, we deploy them, no second thoughts. They 'ave orders ta pull back as soon as tha objective's done, so give them somethin' ta actually achieve. A retreat. Delayin' until somethin' happens. Don't tell 'em ta jus' 'reinforce this spot' or some shite, because those're tha sort o' orders that'll lose this battle."

[Tolvo]

The shieldguard began to set up. King Joeseph was very amicable. Though he screamed his lungs out at Destrin for how he'd spoken to him. When he could hear again there was the thunder of cannons and guns firing. Balls of iron were exchanged as the walls shook from the shock of being struck. The Aqueduct Snakes were formed up above ready to dive in on any command while the others were on the ground behind the walls. As soldiers outside died necromancers waved magical energies that caused them to arise again. While the enemy armies approached the walls with siege engines and tons of infantry their cavalry circled around their own cannons preparing for a sallying forth to come after them. The king stood beside Destrin watching the battle. "What the hell are those big black orbs? THey're starting to glow?" Among the enemy ranks were great spheres of magical energy that was gathering in power. The undead simply kept rising, though the defenders were barely suffering any casualties yet.

[Eddren]

Destrin sighed, then turned to the Aqueduct Snakes. The flying ones, anyway, and rose his voice. "Grab torches an' climb inta tha air! Ah want ya ta dive down toward their powder wagons fer tha cannons an' set 'em aflame! Then report back and await further orders!" He turned toward the wall-mounted cannons and rose his voice, "Focus fire on rifle reports! Leave tha cannons ta tha flyin' cavalry!" Next up he gestured to the Demon Sorcerers, "Ah want waves o' fire rollin' across those undead! Corrupters, corrupt their dead 'till they can't move straight anymore! An' someone get Cassandra over here an' figure out what tha hell those orbs are! Double-time! Ah don't 'ave all day!"

Destrin looked over toward tha king and shrugged, "Wish ah could say. If we can't get a good guess, ah'll head out that way an try an' destroy 'em. Ah 'ave a bad feeling they're probably like our Sorcerer's staves. Probably shoot bolts o' death energy or somethin'. Hell if ah know."

Destrin did take the time to mentally mark the location of the necromancers for later use. Once he had an idea of what those orbs were and what they could do, he'd probably make them the secondary priority. As a matter of fact, he damned well might make them the primary priority--Capturing a few, that is.

[Tolvo]

"Aye aye my lord!" The Aqueduct Flying Snakes took off with torches into the air. As they did so from the enemy army flying units took off as well. Skeletal wyverns, dark armored riders on flying steeds, aerial screws, and some sort of long big steel flying ship. They moved to engage the AFS in the skies. Cannons on the walls began to unleash on wherever they saw gunfire coming from. King Joeseph leaned forwards to watch the fight more. On the back of his neck was a strange birthmark of a maroon colored star.

Demonic mages started to send out small bursts and hails of fireballs at the undead. It burned their bodies and seemed to help with slowing their raising of the dead. Still cannons hammered the walls. The King picked up his helm from nearby and put it on. "This fight is about to get bad, we're gonna see a bloody stream of bodies." He came forwards and raised his axe overhead. "Everyone stand proud! We won't let these phantoms and their blood take us! We are warriors, great days are ahead of us!" The troops cheered at his words and their efforts nearly doubled.

A nearby sorcerer came over to Destrin. "Those orbs are gathering souls for power, I can see the magic. That's what they're doing, then they're gonna release-" While he was speaking the orbs unleashed a torrent of magical energy that hit the walls. Cracks were forming and they could feel the shaking beneath their feet. Enemy gunners set up near the core of their army's rear.

[Eddren]

Destrin just about wanted to curse, but he was in luck. With the Aerial units engaging the Aqueduct Snakes in the air, Destrin could swoop in--Literally--And knock out two metaphorical birds with one stone. He produced a spectral image of a torch in one hand, and called for Jessie, his own Demon Horse. Finally, the Baron turned to the Sorcerer. "Yer comin' wit' me. We're gunna take control o' those Orbs for ourselves." He grinned, "Ah'll buy ya tha time ya need, not ta worry."

Finally, Destrin raised his voice. "Shield-guard, advance! Expand tha defensive perimeter past tha gates! Mage-Muskets, move ta support! Ah want mundane musketeers redirectin' yer fire ta tha battle in tha air! Support tha Aqueduct Snakes! These dead fucks an' tha dumb pricks who're about ta join 'em are forgettin' who tha fuck we are! We're tha crushers o' Demons! Tha fuckers o' Imperials! Tha last time tha Southern Dominion attacked, we didn't jus' fuckin' stop 'em, we whipped 'em so hard they fuckin' became our lapdogs fer tha better part o' a year! And they're STILL fuckin' stupid enough ta attack! Let's take their pride an' fuckin' shove it up their asses, right next ta tha Zombie Dicks they're takin' fer their new overlords!" He raised a fist into the air, mounted Jessie, and helped the Sorcerer onto the horse as well.

"Alright, Jessie. Keep it lower'n that battle ragin' in tha skies an' make a bee-line fer those Orbs. Do a flyby on tha gunners in tha middle if ya can." When they started flying, Destrin would lower the torch, lighting it with Jessie's flaming hooves, before preparing to throw it on the gunpowder storage for the cannons as they flew by. He'd turn his head somewhat to address the Sorcerer. "Ah hope ya 'ave an idea how ta use those Orbs, 'cause if not yer gunna 'ave ta figure it out quick. Ah need ya ta at least take enough control ta redirect tha next blast at their ground-forces. It'd be best if ya figured out how ta move 'em."

[Tolvo]

The sorcerer seemed very hesitant but as he was commanded to join he did so. Holding onto Jessie for dear life they took off while the shield bearing warriors used the front gates to extend the perimeter beyond the walls as Destrin commanded. Mage-muskets followed behind and continued firing while arquebusiers on the walls shot their own loads. Hanging low the enemy gunners were able to fire shots at Destrin. Jessie grew too afraid to continued and retreated back to their own lines. During this time the sorcerer looked over the orbs. "I have no idea how to control them. As best as I can understand though they're feeding off the souls of those who die during the battle. Which means the longer we fight the stronger they get!"

[Eddren]

Destrin almost rolled his eyes. "Ah figured that much. Okay, so les' think fer a moment, then--" He gave Jessie a pat, "Jus' keep dodgin' those musket-rounds for me, yer doin' a great job. FIRE CANNONS IN RESPONSE TA THA ENEMY FIRE! AH'M DRAWIN' EM OUT FER YA, SO YA BETTER HIT STRAIGHT!" He called out mid-sentence before continuing on, "--So we know that tha souls're key. Now, we don't know how ta control tha orb, buuut--What if ya could control tha souls? Is there any way ya could work some sorta corruption magic on tha souls, put 'em under our spell? Then, when tha orb absorbs 'em, use 'em some way? Even if it's just ta break tha orb. If need be, we can get tha rest o' tha Sorcerers ta help out wit' it."

He'd continue to maneuver with Jessie, looking for any sort of opening he could find in the enemy lines. "Fuckin' hell. How'd they even get that many flyin' dead? Fuckin' Five Kingdoms, looks like. Can't do anything right, those creepy fucks." Even as he muttered the insults, he held out his pistol and loaded charged them, loading his firearm for another three shots.

Loaded thusly, Destrin urged Jessie to climb up to the battle in the air, firing at any undead he could see with his three good shots before closing distance with the pick. "Might wanna think about usin' magic when ya can," the Baron advised, "This is gunna get rough."

[Tolvo]

The sorcerer pointed at the orbs again as they fired. "I can't control them, but their mages can, so that would mean if we could kill them then the orbs will just be useless to them. We can also try getting corrupters close enough to mess with the souls as you said." He raised his hands and began to toss out bolts of hellfire whenever he could manage. Destrin shot a rider of the Wild Hunt in the head but only broke off their mask revealing a ghastly pale white Elf beneath it. They hissed at him through sharp fangs and began to chase him. The rider surrounded theirself in a frost that slows Jessie down. His second and third bullet wounded the rider enough to cause them to fall from their horse to the battle below.

In the air a melee had broken out between the flying creatures of Mersus and the Aqueduct Snakes. As it was Destrin's soldiers were losing as a sword of flying ship with guns hammered them from the sides as they fought against wyverns and riders of the Wild Hunt. Arquebusiers were providing covering fire. Down below the undead lines were starting to get close the everlasting guards. Cannons fired upon the enemy janissaries. Orbs released another blast in conjunction with the enemy artillery. More of the walls of the city fractured. King Joeseph looked like he was gathering a group of knights and cavalry inside of the gates.

[Eddren]

"That damned FOOL! AH FUCKIN' TOLD HIM NOT TA CHARGE FER MELEE!" Destrin roared to his men, "Aqueduct Snakes, ah want a full-dive now! Wings in! Yer ta instruct Corrupters ta double-mount, an' get ready ta take off again on my mark!" Destrin shook his head, "An' hope that fool doesn't lose tha whole damned battle afore it gets started." Destrin, too, dived down. "Ah've noticed that tha Deathborne seem ta like frost an' death. Ah've got an idea. Get tha Sorcerers ta grab a few o' tha Mage Muskets. Have 'em channel hellfire through 'em. Pure hellfire. In beams. Ah went 'em ta carve up these fliers. Tha ships're made out o' steel, but they're usin' cannons. That means, if ya can melt tha steel, there's powder somewhere on tha ship, an' that can be fired."

Destrin wheeled Jessie back around and began flying back toward the wall, "An' get it done quick-like. Tha king's jus' put a timer on this fight, an' it's our job ta' win it 'afore he gets us all killed." As he landed, he pointed to one of the corrupters. "Mount up! Yer with me!" He looked to the side, "Do this right, an' ah'll make sure ya've got any resources ya might need for any personal projects. Ah'll even let ya perform a summon tappin' straight from tha ley-line."

He pointed next toward the infantry mounting the walls, "They're about ta shatter tha walls! Ah want anyone not holdin' a musket, mannin' a cannon, or slingin' a spell ta start diggin' two trenches behind tha wall, fifteen feet apart each! As long as ya can get it! Hop to it, it's tha best chance ya 'ave o' not becomin' a zombie yerself! An' someone get tha King off o' that damned horse an' tell him ta keep tha Knights back! They 'ave a bloody use, an' it's not ta fuckin' die chargin' tha undead!"