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[Cathar]

Spring 155
Total war

It was now a couple weeks since Udmunstu was conquered. Kimaeslo Ori was deprived of twenty of its master at arms, and the empire of Osme has been taken by surprize – as it was the first time it ever happened, we did not know how they would react.

The Thaguk Alnos immediately drafted replacements for its levies, but crafting master at arms out of inexperienced civilians would take a lot of time and ressources. In the meantime, the fort was guarded by four squads : Totten's maces, Histamine's crossbows, Uzu's swornsoldiers and Islas's volonteers. They would not be too much to deal with Osme's counteratack.

As early of the 4th of March, barely more than one month and a half since the surrender of Udsmunstu, a large vendetta force arrived to the outskirts of the bridgetown.



Around two hundred souls arranged in the manner of an imperial force – their soldiers were properly armed and were wearing metal armors, a stable of beakdogs and a handful of troll slave infantry was accompanying them.

Due to the beakdogs being used as attack animals instead of mounts, the Thaguk Alnos estimated that it was not a true core imperial force, but instead, a retinue from a well-off pit. Regardless, dealing with them would be substantially harder than dealing with the previous border retinues.

They were led by a female general by the name of Kustmob Amulsnodub, and her force was assembled in the pit of Zozloslaxu – a village near Osme's capitale city.

They assembled in the outskirt and started to group up, getting ready to operate a large push to the bridge, in a similar tactic to the assault which ended the Aconilun, and as they waited, they unleashed a couple of their beakdogs to harass our own war animals, stationned in front of the bridge.

Two large beakdgogs rushed our poor guard dogs immediately and started to eat them alive. The poor dogs could not even fight back against the predators twice their size, and could only yelp as the creatures tore them appart. Their sacrifice was not completely in vain, as it allowed Kiaeslo Ori's army to cross the bridge.



A first little squad, led by Totten and Histamine, soon engaged the two beakdogs. They would quickly be joined by Uzu and a couple more infantrymen. The odds were about one against five, and Ipan's volonteers were not completely ready to fight, making the issue of the fight hard to predict.

Totten and Uzu were clad in heavy armor and their weaponry was state of the art. Dwarven iron swords, especially, prove themselves extremely effective against the beakdogs, whose thick skin and fat, while resisting bronze weapons, offerend no resistance to dwarven iron blades.

One beakdog was slain, the other was pushed back – soon after, the Osmite army initiated engagement. No side could engage at maximum capacity yet and both would have to reinforce during the fight.

Spoiler: Like butter (click to show/hide)

The Swordmaster shakes the war beak dog around by the head, tearing apart the head's fat and bruising the muscle!
A tendon in the skull has been bruised!
The swordsman slashes the war beak dog in the head with his πsteel long swordπ and the severed part sails off in an arc!

The initial, small scale skirmish appeared to favor Mong Kima, who could rely on its superior quality troops and armement to inflict casualties.

The swordsman stabs the goblin lasher in the head with his +steel long sword+ and the severed part sails off in an arc!

Uzu remained stuck in his mind for way too long. It was not the first time he fought, and he arguably had encountered worst enemies than Osmite soldiers, but it was the first time he saw sentient beings butchered like this. Limbs would detach themselves from their bodies, heads would roll at his feet. His mind shut down and he took a moment before rejoining the battle.



The fight then grew in intensity.
Kiseabo, present since the beggining of the skirmish, received an arrow on the flank and struggled to move – at the same time, a small group of Osmite soldiers gathered a simultaneous push against his unit, and the young man received some nasty blows.



Kiseabo collapsed soon after. Totten jumped over his body and brained his assaillants. She noticed the young soldier was still breathing and sighted in relief as the Thaguk Alnos forces were gathering behind her.

The fight was now at its peak. The army of Kimaeslo Ori was mostly gathered, and was fighting the core of the vendetta force, built around its troll slave infantry.

The fight went both ways – many pearlites were wounded despite their armor. Histamine's squad especially suffered a lot of wounds as it was engaged in melee – but for each wound suffered by the pearlites, half a dozen Osmite were struck down.

In the end, casualties were extremely heavy for Osme, its force was broken and routed. The General Kustmob was among the dead.
It was a victory -  a mitigated victory that left quite a shock to the bridgetown, but a victory nonetheless.

The wounded were carried back to the town and soon enough, the hospital was full.

Bitter victory

Histamine lost mobility in her right leg and would now have to walk with a crutch – the other soldiers received some lighter wounds that were quickly washed and sutured.

Kiseabo, however, was in a critical state.



Part of his skeleton has been pulverized by hammer blows – not only that, but despite being washed with soap, some of his wounds shown signs of infection. Ralin did what she could, and she enlisted the help of other citizen with some medical experience to watch over the young man.

Kiseabo could barely move, and he had to be fed in his bed.


Ralin had no doubt she could mend the bones and the tissues, but was way less confident about the infections on his finger and hip. The poor man would end up spending the three next months in the hospital, receiving a large quantity of treatments for his multiple wounds.

« I'm sorry » he said to his friend Uzu visiting him. « I wish I could fight alongside you again – but whether I live or die, it appears I won't be able to.
- Don't be sorry – it's my fault. I should not have dragged you into the army, and after I did, I should have protected you better.
-Nonsense ! »

Kiseabo was in surprizingly good spirit considered his condition.

« I would die ten, twenty times over against Osme, he said with conviction. These bastards mutilated my elder brother back in Thomocemir. I killed three of them – one for each limb they took from him ! I am satisfied whatever happens, now.
Brother Uzu : promise me that you will carry the fight to its conclusion after I pass ! »

Invisible wounds

Witness to those events, Uzu was emotionally very affected. He couldn't stop rehashing in his mind the events he partake into. All those dead – his friend in his death bed, and all that blood ! He fought a twilight monster when he was twelve – but those monsters were not sapient. They were barely alive to begin with ! But goblins – killing them was something else alltogether. Back to training, he was regularly spacing out, or went into inordinate shouting matches with his subordinates.

The other officers woukd not say anything as Uzu was directly the Lady's underling. The Lady herself would have to intervene to save the army from falling into complete chaos following his outbursts.

The swornmen were momentarily relieved from their functions and were given a month off. Desli hoped Uzu would take the opportunity to rest up and enjoy life. He did the exact opposite of that.

Uzu would take his vacation as an opportunity to visit the Lady every day.

The first day, he complained about lacking a correct equipment. He had a fancy armor, a decorated helmet and an iron breastplate – but his gauntlets were made of pearlite bronze. Clearly as the sworncaptain of the Lady, he deserved better ! Desli ordered a pair of dwarven iron gauntlets to be made for him.

The second day, he complained about the state of the prison. It was way too small to be useful – if a crime wave was to rise in town, he could not use the jails to contain it. Desli thought about arguing that aside him, nobody was causing any problem in town at this point, but elected not to and ordered a suppletive cell to be built in the old quarry.



The third day, he complained about the lact of distractions and the extreme boredom he experienced. Desli was a smart woman, and she understood her underling's erratic and aggressive behaviour was mostly caused by his war trauma. The poor man was expeiencing night terrors since the battle. He would need time to heal – and clearly time off was not working out for him.

« Go organize sparring matches in the old barracks ? » she asked. « We are drafting every day now, and we need someone to show them how fighting is done. »

She marked a pause, trying to judge his reaction. It was hard to tell – visibly, he was upset, but he has been upset for two months. Keeping him busy -surely that was the solution. Keeping him from breaking completely until he gather enough mental strengh to overcome his fear.

Technically, the elves visited the town this spring – but they came and went without people really noticing them.

That season had more action that Kimaeslo Ori was ever accustomed to – maybe it is for the best that interraction with iferifiyopi elves was kept at a minimum.

[HakuryuVision]

Boy, those gobos never waste any time retaliating, do they?
Also went better than expected!

Cathar, i like how you balance out which parts of your story you draw.
You could have easily just picked to draw battles, and written the rest in text.

Also, stellar work as always!

[Splint]

I have no idea why but that lasher literally getting his head popped off with a "Back to hell you go!" got an actual chuckle out of me.

I shall invoke a preacher man from Utah. Not verbatim, but.

"It's important to remember that Pearlites, generally, don't enjoy killing. However, when done in good cause to one's kith and kin it is often seen as just another job to be done. And the reason our training policies might be seen as harsh at times to other Pearlite communities is simple: Practiced hands make for short work."

[Sir Knight]

Hooray, updates!  Hooray, war stories!

Also, the bridge after all this construction is looking preeeetty.

[Cathar]

"It's important to remember that Pearlites, generally, don't enjoy killing. However, when done in good cause to one's kith and kin it is often seen as just another job to be done. And the reason our training policies might be seen as harsh at times to other Pearlite communities is simple: Practiced hands make for short work."

Haha yeah, Pearlites are the porcupines of Minbazkar. We did not start the fight, but by Ino are we going to finish it.

Boy, those gobos never waste any time retaliating, do they?
Also went better than expected!

Cathar, i like how you balance out which parts of your story you draw.
You could have easily just picked to draw battles, and written the rest in text.

Also, stellar work as always!

Yeah, I'm now operating under the assumption they will come over and over in very large numbers. We have to scale up very quick.

Very glad you like my work Hakuryu Thanks for being there

Hooray, updates!  Hooray, war stories!

Also, the bridge after all this construction is looking preeeetty.

Thanks ! Pretty and almost finished ! After that, we will have to complete the on-bridge buildings, then we can start colonizing the other shore !

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Summer 155

Those last seasons have been extremely active and consumed a lot of ressources, both mental and material for the Thaguk Alnos. The 24th of January, Udmunstu was captured, then shortly after, the 6th of March, the counter attack on Kimaeslo Ori was repelled.

This came at a cost – multiple wounds including permanent ones on Histamine and Kiseabo, the latter still being held in the hospital, and twenty soldiers being kept busy occupying a goblin village.

Not only that conflict drained  a lot of ressources, but it also set the town in a dynamic where large ressource consumtions is becoming mendatory. There are sets of armor to produce, armies to train, defenses to build, populations to feed, wounded to heal.

Wittingly or not, the bridgetown, had take the national lead in the war against Osme, and the respect and admiration of their peers came packed with larges expectations.

Economy at war

During a town meeting in the throne room, Totten had to suffer a long and very through inquisition by the civilian power led by Lady Desli.  It was warranted – the army of the Thaguk Alnos was by very far its most important expenditure.

« How large do you estimate the military needs to be ? » she  was asked first.

« Military common sense says we need twenty percent of the settlement to defend it » she answered immediately. « However, the city is launching offensives and is under direct threat – we might as well double that number. »

Fourty percent of 165...

« Sixty-six » interjected Ozo, the bookkeeper.

« Let's say seventy, then » Desli continued. « How much will  it cost, per head, to train a civilian into a man-at-arms ? »

It was an easy calculus. The cost per soldier was mostly composed of the price of their armor. The weapon they were given had a large value, but due to their comparatively low metal consumption, they could be made at a lower cost.

« One metal ingot for the helmet, one for the gauntlets, one for the boots. Two for the greaves, two for the scalemail, one for the weapon, and six ingots of fuel to have them all crafted. We add a leather armor and a leather shield for soldiers requesting them, but leather has almost no price. »

« Eight ingots of metal, six ingots of fuel » summed up the lady. « Now let's say, we're building the force we're talking about – how many more soldiers do you need to outfit ? »

« I'm pretty confident I have thirty men-at-arms in medium armor right now. Maybe more if we count the armors pieces laying here and there... »

The Lady cut her up. Later, the details. For now, she asked for a cost estimation. If thirty was a reliable number, let's say thirty.

So, we need fourty medium armors and weapons – she turned to Ozo.

« Three hundred twenty metal ingots » he said in a sight. « Two hundred fourty fuel ingots. »

Desli choked. For Ino's sake, she never heard of price that high. And that fuel cost would require to clearcut the forest around town – the elves are going to complain.

But somehow, she knew she had no choice – it was the cost of the safety of the Thaguk Alnos ; her people. And protecting the town was necessary for the project she was hatching for a couple years now.

« Alright » she decided. « Commander Totten, you have free reigns to enlist, arm and train a garrison of sixty soldiers, plus my ten swornsmen. »

The decision was acted, and the town council moved on to the next topic.

Lady Desli's pet project

Well, that was a large swat of the town's ressources-to-come dedicated to a singular purpose. Kimaeslo Ori does not have metal on its ground – it has to be imported, or  undresssed from enemy corpses. Osmite copper being very weak, it is often alloyed with tin, to make a proper pearl bronze – and tin does not come cheap.

Ah well, no need to cry over spoiled milk. Lady Desli had a second project that was very important to her :have her town become the capitale city of Mong Kima.


I have no idea what that button does but damn do I want to press it

The Thalguk Alnos now had dominion over Edetledir and Udsmunstu – its council was now the most influent of the kingdom. Meanwhile, the queen and her court were living in the ridiculous provincial castle of Asuciro – convincing her to come to the bridgetown seemed possible.

Queen Usu was very old and had no blood related heir – after she dies, the kingdom's crown will be up for grabs. And Lady Desli had ambitions.

There was only one issue : her own palace was not prestigious enough to house the royal court. It needed to be xpended at least two stories, and outfited with the most beautiful artworks the town could produce.

She came to the conclusion that, for now, the best was to focus the construction on stoneworks, and only when the whole army is outfited, the luxuous rooms on the palace's top stories could be outfitted and the queen could be invited.

Buying out the guild

The trader's guild arrived in town the 14 of july – they were integral to Lady Desli's plan. She gave Histamine her directions : buy anything that you can use, but make sure to flood them with gifts. They needed to be floored.

And so Histamine did. Every item containing a scrap of metal was bought. Armor pieces that could be used by the army were bought. Furnitures, cloth and leather was bought in great quantity. In exchange, they were given a real treasure trove of cloth jewlery.



The total value of the goods was way beyond what the guild was expecting. It was only cloth for the most part, but died twice and tailored by masters, they were a luxury item in and of themselves. The traders had no doubt they could trade them in the villages and cities at a profit – and they had them way below their value.

Histamine added to the trade another set of boxes, destined to the Queen and her court. They were containing crowns, hearrings, necklaces – absolutely worthy of a ruler.

« Please see that those gifts arrve safely at Asuciro », Histamine insisted. It is important that Queen Usu knows where are her most loyal subjects.

« And while you are at it, please tell Lady General Ener that her nephew has been wounded in battle, and she may have to hurry here if she wants to see him again. »

« The stern sense-beater » and other volonteers

A couple days after the traders, July 26th, a new group of volonteers hit the town. They were led by a woman from Thomocemir by the name of Bikdΰ Medicocu Tethakpabatotir. As her heroic name « Tethakpabatotir », « The stern sense-beater », she had a couple victorious battles under her belt. She was a veteran who first served Tetzobsha's military, a long, long time ago, under Commander Stipoth Rosmowom, famous vampire hunter and father of the pearlite axe fighting method. There, she helped repel the elves of Pilalene thrice.

In 133, she then became one of the earliest members of the armed branch of the Riverguard under Pathril Omaaloc Anarsathet Ucim and patricipated to every battle against Osme, as well as the elves of Wulemaapasi and the dwarves of Desoruzol. In total, she participated to 41 battles during her life – a true veteran.



« I heard Kimaeslo Ori was expending its military and was in dire need of instructors » she said to Totten. « If you still have positions open, I'd like to apply »

Summer ends

Because the barracks has been moved from the old underground cave to the new and shiny building on the bridge, Uzu now had to walk quite a long way to get back to his home. He quickly took the habit to stop by the beach before going to sleep, taking the opportunity to wind down and reflect.

Uzu was physically fine – as a master at arms clad in iron from head to toe and armed with a dwarven iron sword, there's not a lot in the world that can be a threat to him. But ever since the battle in March, he distinctly felt something has broken inside him.

The very idea that he was mentally damaged, as his friend Kiseabo was still betwen life and death, only added guilt to his trauma.

One evening of August, Islas, noticing the development in his old friend's behaviour, decided to come and sit next to him.



The aging adventurer more or less understood the feelings of the sworncaptain. He knew him since he was a kid – still, he had no idea of what to tell him. Dealing with one's own problems was already difficult, dealing with those of others recquired skills Islas definitely did not have.

They remained sat on the beach until night had completely fallen ; then they stood and left without talking.
The scene repeated the next day, and the day after, until the end of August. Temperatures started to fall, and staying outside late became less comfortable.

Something in Uzu ressented the end of summer... In the same time, he felt better  than half a year before. Hopefully, the comung of Fall will help to heal the young man's invisible wounds.

[Sir Knight]

Huh.  Is the beach-visit-narrative based on events seen in-game?  "Consolations," say?  Or is it just a bit of creativity on your part?

[Cathar]

It's just creativity, season has been pretty quiet. Mostly based on the fact Uzu is flirting with mental breakdown (and, well, actively taken care of by me)

[Cathar]

Fall 156

Almost six month have pass since the last attack from Osme. Things have been extremely calm so far – aside from the terrors and the wounds from the fightings in early spring, nothing bad really happened those six last months.

And the season of Autumn would continue that trend of quiet recovery.

Uquur is a grandmother now

Birod was a Thomocemir knight of high standing, and prestigious bloodline. His paternal grandparents being the lords of Lemhuqihu village, and his mother, Uquur, having be a renowned Thomocemir fighter, now elected as the head of the Trader's guild.

We first met him in summer 131, at Thomocemir, when he arrived with his father, mother and two siblings.


Time flies doesn't it

The death of his two siblings – Ilpi would be killed by a werebeast transformed Valken, and Lum would later fall in battle against Osme – always left a hole in his heart, and had us worried for a long time that he would die without giving a legacy to his family.


Birod has been fighting since he is in age to wield a blade

When he joined Kimeaslo Ori in spring 153, a now adult and married Birod was at first given a grade of instructor in the army, but soon was released of his function as he expressed the wish to focus on his personal life.

The town welcomed the birth of his first son with cheers.



The son was named Ras, and his birth is a great rellief for the town. That is one prestigious bloodline continuation that is insured – for now. After the birth of his second child, should it happen, we're considering re-enlisting him in the army – he is actually an excellent instructor in addition to be an excellent swordsman.

While we are on the topic of family establishing, please wave if you have an unmarried character and want to operate some matchmaking.

Kiseabo's new friend

Kiseabo is still bedridden, with infection progressing slowly through his body. Ralin and other doctors visit him almost daily. Bubos have grown on his body and had to be pierced – Ralin executed the operation with a heated copper knife – however necessary, it caused the young man a great deal of pain.

Not only that, but his state does not seem to improve in any way. After more than half a year, his bones do not seem to have mend and the poor soldier still cannot leave his bed.

One morning, as Ralin bring him a basket of apricots for breakfast, she discovered that Kiseabo had made a new friend.



A kitten, barely weaned, decided that the wounded man would be a good master – or more realistically, a cosy enough  warm place to sleep on as the temperature kept falling.

Kiseabo was still in good spirit, and taking care of his new furry companion would give him something to busy his days.

« I called him Pabat Qihuishas » he told Ralin. Luckily for now, no operation was planned for the day – he would have hate to wake the kitten up. « But I'd be happy if he recognize the name Pabat to begin with. »

Autumn festival, mass recruitment and gear shortage
There is nothing special to be said about the yearly visit of the Nish Tiz dwarves – aside the fact that most of what they did bring, we bought. Tons of metal, but also a copious amount of fuel.



As soon as they were exchanged for craftgoods of cloth and bones, the steres of wood were taken to the furnaces and were methodically turned into charcoal – which in turn, fueld the redsmith wokshops. Those were, at this point, functionning at full capacity. The army had expended multiple times since the spring invasion, and further recruitments were thought about.

However, even if manpower was plentiful, the armory was not full enough to supply every recruit with the mendatory battle gear they needed, and a lot of new draftees had to take up arms in civilian clothes. Greaves, most especially, were in very short supply, and even established soldiers were still missing valable leg protection.


We have 80 soldiers under arms and the price of equipping them is off the charts

Of course, that means Kaos was not returned to the army, and instead was tasked to produce new gear as fast as he could. Use verything you canb, he has been told. Even osmite-grade copper armor is preferable to nothing at all.



Kaos would do his best, but he could not shake off the idea that working with vulgar metals was a waste of his talent. He could not wait to be given new dwarven iron bars and make unstoppable swors again.

I am really considering establishing a smithing hall in the old mines. I don't know if the smiths would use it to teach each other if no guild is present ?

Headways in bridge construction
Lastly, there are two minor events that may worth mentionning.

First, jaguar kitten have started to reach adulthood. We were beggining to fear it would never happen – but as it turns out, jaguars have a longer juvenile period than  other animals we're used to raise. Those who have have been trained to war, however we will not use them in warfare before we know they can be replaced when killed.
It is currently unknown if jaguars can fare better than wardogs in an invasion scenario.

Second, the fourth foot of the bridge has finally be linked to its body.


The foot, built years ago, was slightly misplaced and construction efforts had to be made to it aligns properly

The completion of the bridge itself is for very soon. It will likely be finished during the year 156.The completion of the bridge itself should not make us forget another, as if not more important construction goal, which is the water palace. Efforts will have to be directed to it, so it can house the royal crown as soon as possible.

[TheFlame52]

It's a bit jarring to see the status screen full of Uά instead of ☺☻.

It's nice to see that the people of Thomocemir aren't always in trouble. Lovely art as always!

[Darkening Kaos]

    Hmmm, back to the daily grind, but I do understand that the protection of the army is more important, even if it is with ... rude ... copper, how I dislike even its name.

     With young children running around the town, I do feel the sting of lonely bachelorhood, perhaps it is time I settled down, find a wife, and raise a few new smiths to carry on the noblest art into the next generation.

     A smithing guild?  Others have mentioned it, but it is a field requiring years of dedication and practice to truly understand the ways and feel of metal, I fear it would also expose us to those that seek to gain mere profit from lower quality products . . . it worries me.

     (Excerpt from the musings of Kaos, dated late 156.)

[Splint]

Fine construction, and finer still the growth of the military.

If there's concerns about training, if there's spare leather about some leather body armor and helmets should do the job of preventing any serious injuries (I've had accidents with trainees grappling and throwing each other in past forts that this cheap armor went a very long way to alleviating.)

I'll bet you'll not find a finer army in all the realm at this rate, even if some personnel are under-equipped. Nor finer engineering.

[Cathar]

We could find a match for Kaos. A fine lady of his age, that was asking for romance.


Final picture and officilization of the wedding next update !

It's a me problem that I cannot imagine playing anything else than humans in fantasy games...

Thank you tho !

The good news is, leather we have large supplies of. leather armors are plentiful, leather shields, backpacks, waterskins...that we have large supplies of. Medium armor, that we want to make standard for our troops, includes a leather armor over a copper mail... our troops probably are mostly  equipped with those.

The mail and the greaves are what is really costly.

But yeah ! Kimaeslo Ori is definitely the most advanced settlement of the kingdom. I cant wait to become the capitale. As soon as the palace is finished, I'm pressing the big red button

[Superdorf]

Can humans make bone greaves?

[Cathar]

Yes, we can ! Although non metallic armors are really untrustworthy in battle (their use is probably why we lost the town last time), we might have to resort to them as they are still better than nothing. But even in that case, we'll replace them asap.

In other news, Winter 155 has been played. And a LOT of things happened. It's a big bad mixed bag of experimentations, problems and discoveries fitting into each others like a tetris WR, and Kaos is involved more than once. Totten and Ralin also will have some screentime

[Splint]

I wait whatever calamity happened eagerly