The day was hot, as it always was, an oppressive sun beating upon a plain of greenish-yellow savanna. Looking out from atop his village walls, built firmly at the very edge of a sun-baked mesa, a young man watched the black figures of an antelope herd graze. For several miles they were the only obstruction in the flatness, otherwise broken only by another, similar herd of wildebeast, a few sparse outcroppings of trees, and the great Mount Korak, rising into the center of his view, its black cliffs melding with its overgrown sides as it rested a good half-a-day's journey away. His gaze turned slowly to the right, watching the gentle undulations of the horizon as the distant edges of the great plains gave way to rolling hills. He knew the sight well, many times he had sat here and gazed at the immensity of the ocean of grass before him, or the brilliant shining of the obsidian slopes on Mount Korak. He turned his gaze right, and noticed something peculiar. He squinted,attempting to attach meaning to the black figures bounding toward the village...
"RAAAAAAID!!!"
The simple word sent a brief ripple of silence across the village, then a bursting fervor of activity. Women hastily goaded their children into the safety of burrow-like dwellings, men and young boys hurriedly grabbed obsidian-tipped spears and swords, or sent the warning to the village farmers below, who were also soon scrabbling into the village gates or hurriedly prodding livestock into hidden sanctuaries. The boy himself was within moments running flat-out toward his own home, leaving with both his throwing spears and a worried mother's blessing. In no more then ten minutes, nearly the entire village's militia were readying their spears and other throwing weapons upon low walls or taking up defensive positions around slower livestock and farmers, while the black horde, now in full view, descended several thousand strong upon them. This was no ordinary raid.
It was obvious by the huge grey beasts leading their charge that this was from the wealthy Oba' Clan city a week on foot away. A regiment of the cavalry broke off from the main horde and charged, their target obviously the men defending the village's stragglers. Many were brought low by throwing spears, and the rest circled vainly about the spiky phalanxes being made around the village's entrances, too well prepared for a cavalry charge to puncture. They were forced to retreat out of throwing distance, picking off any villagers too slow to get within the gates in time. The phalanxes soon withdrew inward and roc
Last Edit: Today at 06:34:42 pm k slabs were rolled across the tunnel-like entrances. In a few short minutes afterward, the bulk of the force arrived, most of them mounted or being carried behind them. The armies glared at one another in silence, the two close enough to barely see the other's faces, yet too far for spears to be thrown. A voice, enhanced by a horn, sounded from the back of an elephant,
"Our desire is simple, sovereignty over the gold mines your village is situated upon. Either surrender and provide us with a tribute of gold, or we shall take it from you with sword and spear!"
Then again came the silence, though this time broken by a resounding laugh. The boy, situated upon a low tower above the village's main entrance beofre which the horde had also placed themselves, noticed the militia commander dart down the entrance tunnel and come back not a minute later with one of the two decorative golden spears which hung within it. He came back to his tower, threw his arm back, and made sure he aimed very carefully. His adviser hastily warned him of the consequences, though these were left unheeded. The spear was soon flying toward the lead elephant, and the boy found himself admiring the distance of it before it sliced perfectly through the leather roof of the basket. The elephant trumpeted in pain and reared backward onto its heels, while the spear's intended target barely managed to stay on.
"There's your gold!" the commander shouted.
There was a pause as the beast masters attempted to steady and calm the panicking beast, during which time a war trumpet was sounded from an unseen signal. First to come was a hail of arrows, a weapon never before seen by the village's inhabitants. They stared in fear and wonder as they sliced through the sky like a cloud of hungry locusts and came down in a rain of death. Through the cries of pain and fear the militia commander's voice could be heard,
"Into the tunnels and houses! They cannot puncture the earth!"
The exposed troops did so hastily, as messengers ran through the ranks of militia and villagers too far to hear him, repeating his order. Not one moment before the exposed had retreated downward, another hail of arrows flung themselves into the sky and landed with a thousand thuds upon unyielding earth. There was another pause, shouts could be heard from the outside though little of meaning could be discerned. The trumpeting and stomping of elephants soon shook the entrance caves, and the militia commander quickly shouted, "Spear throwers, follow me!" He ran out of the tunnel's safety and those armed with a throwing spear soon followed.
The commander quickly darted up the stairs of his tower and stared downward. As he suspected, a great ram made of many trees tied together had been brought forth between several elephants, which were presently being tethered onto it. It was exactly what he had feared would one day happen. He turned to the men behind him and said solemnly, "They are preparing an elephant ram. Hide behind the walls, and be ready to attack on my signal." They obeyed, crouching behind the low wall and readying their spears.
They waited, time passed slowed as anticipation mounted.
The commander watched as the final elephant was tethered and the area cleared. He tensed, opening his mouth in anticipation. The beastmasters brought up their whips and he shouted, "ATTACK!" But he was too early. The beastmasters stayed their whips and watched as 20-30 spearmen rose from behind their cover and, after a brief hesitation, flung their spears vainly at them.
The commander cursed himself, saw the archers raise their bows and shouted, "RETREAT!"
They made it back in the tunnel just before the cloud of arrows could meet their mark.
He thought quickly.The best option to him was to try again, though they'd be more alert this time. And if he failed...
He grabbed at a nearby soldier, just into manhood, and told him in a low voice, "Go through the village, tell everyone to evacuate through the secret tunnels, to the gold mines." The man's eyebrows furrowed. It was a coward's tactic.
"And... Tell Hoolul he still owes me that elephant head."
The sober overtones of this phrase was not lost on the man; such sacrifices were often made to the spirits of dead friends and relatives. It seemed an unnecessary sacrifice, the militia here was well-trained, many of them hardened veterans, and the village here was made for just such an assault. A handful of men could hold these tunnels against an army of thousands.
But disobedience was harshly punished in the militia, so the man obeyed and was soon running through the village, relaying his message to all he encountered. It was not long before the stone slab guarding the entrance closest to opposite of the main gate was quietly pulled away and the village, including most of the militia, was evacuating through it and slipping into the hidden tunnel system which led to and served as an entrance to the gold mines. It was not long before the charging, then panicked trumpeting of elephants could be heard, closely followed by a loud THUD. They hastened their pace.
Two hours later
Why are we running? the young man thought. The Oba' Clan should be the ones running! We could've held the town if we tried!
He had felt annoyed at this ever since they had entered this damn, cramped tunnel, though now a wave of indignation slowly grew within him.
"That was our village..." he mumbled sub-consciously to himself. "They had no right to take it from us!"
He realized that he had just screamed his last thought, though despite embarrassment he continued, as if some other was pushing his body along,
"That was OUR village, built with the sweat and blood of our ancestors! Are we to abandon their sacrifice so easily? Are we to damn their toil, for US, without so much as a raised finger? Many of us are hardened warriors who have proved through shed blood that we are worthy of our place on this earth! Are we to flee like petty rats into dark holes and let the predators take the glory? Is our legacy to run and hide at the first sign of defeat? No, I say! We shall fight, just as our ancestors did when they claimed this land as their own! We must defend our claim, our birthright, to the bloody end or suffer the fate of the scared rat, forgotten in dark places and made known only when feasted upon by greater beings! We. Must. FIGHT!"
He raised an obsidian spear into the air, and many of the others did the same.
"Follow me to battle, then, if you do not wish the fate of the rat!"
It was late dusk when they arrived back at the hidden tunnel entrance. Almost all of the militia men and many of the women had followed, spare throwing spears given out to those without another weapon. The stone gate had been kept open, the tunnel entrance was concealed enough that there was little risk of it being detected and the open gate might lead them on a wild goose chase through the plains. It was intended as little more then an annoyance, though as it was it may provide an unforeseen advantage. No one guarded the gate, and the edge of a camp could be seen around the edge of the mesa. The man was able to rally his troop, about 700 in total, and assess them in full for the first time. It was the largest village militia he had ever seen, though he knew they were still outnumbered many times over. Maybe the commander did have some reasoning behind his order to evacuate...
He decided that he should scout the enemy force while the rest hid from view in the tunnels. He commanded all but a select few which looked like strong runners to hide and wait for a report, and they obeyed without question. He wondered at this sudden authority, then told the few he had selected which sections to scout. They knew the village well, so it would be easy to predict and avoid or sneak about areas which the enemy would likely be. The briefing was short, and they were soon searching their designated sections, sharing gained information whenever two of them met. It took no more then thirty minutes for them to gain a good approximation of where the enemy was within the village, and by then the sun had been reduced to a barely noticeable glow on a starry horizon. Many of the soldiers in the village were still awake but they almost all appeared to be drunk and in one location, the large carved-out cave within the inner wall which was normally used as a tavern. No patrols had been spotted, and most of the village lay illuminated only by starlight. They were not expecting a counter-attack.
The man again assembled his small army and told them his report, and each scout gave their own as well. He had intended to maintain the traditional way of council, though he found himself giving his plan as an order, and the others seemed more then willing to obey. He found this unsettling, though in the face of coming battle he forced himself to focus. The drunken soldiers, though many of them were armed, were pathetically trained to begin with and were quickly dispatched with little more commotion then you'd expect from a room full of drunks. Next, the entrance the militia had used, which had numerous horse tracks leading through it, was sealed quietly while most of the army moved toward the main entrance. The enemy camp was large, very large, though also largely unguarded. The elephants and horses seen in the main attack were non-existent, either taken to other more important matters or concealed somewhere. A night attack might thin the ranks though would also be risky, if they could not escape in time after the alarm was raised they'd be crushed by number alone.
Though it was decided to do this anyway, and they passed as quietly as they could through the body-littered entry and dispersed, sneaking in small groups through the unorganized clusters of tents. The militia attacked only those who were asleep or which they could attack by surprise, stabbing their throats or covering their mouths so they could not scream. The kill count rose quickly as many of the soldiers had chosen to sleep early, being left to suffocate on gurgled blood where they slept. They had managed to slay a full third of the army before a single word pierced the night;
"ATTACK!! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!!!"
Now came the retreat, the rebels charged at nearby quarry before they were able to rouse themselves fully and ran by the stars and moon's dim illumination, though they could have continued to claim a full half of the opposing army before they were in any danger. Spears arranged themselves in phalanx behind with a thin wall of swordsmen situated between spears. They stayed hidden from archer fire behind the ceiling's upward slope, the man commanding them took his spear and merged into the second wall of the phalanx, and they waited.
And waited.
For many minutes they waited, eventually realizing that they had not been spotted on the retreat. The commander decided to take advantage of this, ordering first a cautious march forward to ensure that they had not been followed, and indeed they had not, then an order to disperse and attack targets of opportunity, striking critical or lethal blows before they had time to react, then fading away into the night. The opposing army had only just begun to organize, and chaos and confusion still dominated their ranks. This was further amplified as fear began to grip them as more and more of their number were claimed by the silent wraiths which seemed to come from nowhere, strike, then disappear without a trace only to reappear just as the search was given up. First they attacked dazed and confused soldiers, though they gradually became bolder as chaos reigned, soon striking at commanders and other holders of power. It was not long until the order to retreat was given and the thinned ranks broke further and fled in panic into the night.
Victory had been achieved.
(Not done yet.)
1) Work hex 1 (+3 food, +1 wool)
2) Work hex 2 (+4 food)
3) Work hex 3 (+4 food)
4) Work hex 8 (+2 food, +.5 elephants)
5) Work hex 11 (+2 food, +1 wool)
6) Work hex 18 (+2 food, +1 wood)
7) Work hex 4 (+1 food, +1 wool, +2 money)
Work hex 13 (+1 Stone)
Total: +18 food, +3 wool, +1 wood, +.5 elephants, +2 money, +1 Stone
9) Hall of Learning (Mining)
10) Hall of Learning (Mining)
11) Hall of Learning (Mining)
12) Build Library (-1 Stone)
13) Build Library (-1 Wood)
14) Build Quarry (hex 13)
15) Build Quarry (hex 13)
+20 spirituality luxury points -> +1 morale
7.5 tax income
Tell one of the Zealot units to explore outside the city for tribes and villages they can convert, led by the Chosen One himself. Do not force them to join, though intimidation is discouraged it is acceptable. Also, don't forget to bring up the fact that we just defeated what was probably the most powerful military power known to this section of the world, and how large and prosperous we are. Tell them to come back and report by the end of the year.
Tell the other Zealot unit to guard the city, and respond to any threats outside of it as they can without putting the city itself in danger. Train under the general during free time, though always keep a few men stationed on patrol duty.
End of turn totals: 3/20 food, 3/20 wool, .5/20 elephants, 9.5 money
Author
Topic: Dawn of a New World game thread (Year 26; Evil Eye) (Read 17923 times)