Recaps

Wuqida’s Iron Bone Tribe cavalry pursued the Horseshoe Tribe’s retreating flock and seized it, but Jackson’s Two Rivers cavalry caught up as Wuqida prepared to face them. The chapter ended with the two forces approaching a battle.

• Wuqida followed the trail left by the Horseshoe Tribe’s sheep after his men discovered it at the abandoned settlement.
• Ranger Cavalry scouts reported the Iron Bone Tribe force’s route to Jackson, who chose to intercept it with his cavalry.
• The Horseshoe Tribe herders abandoned their flock and fled when Wuqida’s cavalry caught up with them.
• Wuqida’s soldiers gathered the vast flock, and Wuqida organized his force to guard it while marching toward the Main Camp.
• Wuqida heard an approaching cavalry force, formed his troops to face it, and urged them to stand firm.

Wuqida’s Iron Bone Tribe Cavalry met an equally large enemy army led by Jackson, whose armored Heavy Cavalry shattered their formation in a head-on charge. The battle opened with the Iron Bone Tribe taking heavy losses and its Wall Charge broken through.

• Wuqida spotted the approaching enemy army and judged that his troops’ readiness and stamina gave them an advantage.
• Wuqida ordered the Iron Bone Tribe Cavalry to accelerate and countercharge the enemy.
• Jackson sent the Two Rivers Legion’s chainmail-clad Heavy Cavalry at the front of his formation.
• The two sides exchanged mounted archery, and the Iron Bone Tribe suffered considerable losses while its arrows failed to harm the armored riders.
• The armies collided, and the Heavy Cavalry tore through Wuqida’s formation, piercing the Iron Bone Tribe’s Wall Charge.

Wuqida tried to regroup the Iron Bone Tribe cavalry and wait for the Two Rivers Legion to tire, but Jackson used mounted archers to force him into a frontal battle. The Two Rivers Legion routed the Iron Bone Tribe, captured Wuqida, and returned toward the Border Fortress with prisoners and the recovered herders.

• Wuqida rallied his scattered troops, reorganized the formation, and sent cavalry after the Two Rivers Legion's Heavy Cavalry.
• Jackson used mounted archers to inflict casualties and provoke the Iron Bone Tribe into charging, then formed his troops into an Arrowhead Formation.
• The Two Rivers Legion met the Iron Bone Tribe in a frontal clash while its Heavy Cavalry struck the enemy's rear formation.
• The Heavy Cavalry pierced the Iron Bone Tribe's lines twice, causing its cavalry to collapse as Jackson's forces encircled Wuqida.
• After more than an hour of fighting, Wuqida and many surviving Barbarians surrendered, and Jackson's troops set out for the Border Fortress with the prisoners and recovered Horseshoe Tribe herders.

After Wuqida’s cavalry was annihilated, Muli and Muheda returned to the Iron Bone Tribe’s Main Camp, where Heshima welcomed them to a banquet. He then accused their forces of harboring spies and placed the two commanders and their trusted officers under house arrest, taking control of their troops.

• Jackson sent news of victory to the Border Fortress, and Victor ordered Wuqida brought back for interrogation.
• Muli and Muheda learned of Wuqida’s defeat, joined their forces, and delayed reporting to Heshima as they withdrew toward the Iron Bone Tribe’s Main Camp.
• Heshima summoned Muli and Muheda to a welcome banquet and reassured them that he did not blame them for Wuqida’s defeat.
• Yibule and another Commander of Ten Thousand questioned Muli and Muheda’s loyalty and suggested that spies from the Former Tribal Alliance had helped the southerners.
• Heshima ordered Muli and Muheda to cooperate with an investigation and remain in his tent, and they surrendered their military authority and were placed under house arrest.

Heshima consolidated control of the Main Camp and used overwhelming numbers of Barbarian Rangers and herders to drive Two Rivers County’s scouts and cavalry back to the Border Fortress. The Iron Bone Tribe’s army gathered beyond the border, leaving the Two Rivers Legion nearly blind as the battlefield fell quiet.

• Heshima broke up and reorganized Muli and Muheda’s units, ending their control over the troops and securing the Main Camp.
• Heshima sent more than five thousand Barbarian Rangers to block Two Rivers County’s scouts, forcing Buffon to withdraw his Ranger Cavalry to the Border Fortress.
• James sent Jackson and the Light Cavalry to attack the Barbarian Rangers, initially winning through superior training and equipment.
• As the Iron Bone Tribe’s main forces arrived, Heshima sent waves of young herders into battle, exhausting James’s troops and forcing Buffon’s scouts to retreat.
• James reported the losses to Victor, who accepted the outcome after learning that the border forces had killed many enemies at relatively limited cost.
• The Iron Bone Tribe gained control of battlefield reconnaissance, and its army remained near its camp while the battlefield fell silent.

Victor forwarded intelligence reports to James, who prepared the Northwestern Border Defense Line for battle while training his forces. After half a month of quiet and the arrival of March, the thaw turned the grassland to mud, and the sentries grew complacent, believing the Iron Bone Tribe would not attack.

• Victor forwarded the limited intelligence reports to James, the chief commander of the Northwestern Border Defense Line.
• James reviewed the reports and began preparing for battle, focusing on training his second-line forces and militia.
• James assessed that his force of more than twenty thousand troops remained weaker than the Two Rivers Legion and the Iron Bone Tribe’s seasoned cavalry, but trusted his defenses and Victor’s secret weapons.
• After half a month without new movement from the Iron Bone Tribe, March’s thaw turned the grassland into mud.
• The Border Defense Line’s sentries grew complacent because they thought the Barbarians would not attack across the mire.

A sentry post spotted the Iron Bone Tribe advancing in force and alerted Two Rivers County, prompting the Border Fortress to prepare for battle. James organized the defense while Researcher Solington pressed him to deploy Thunderfire Cannon No. 1, and James began explaining his plan after the meeting.

• A sentry saw a huge force approaching and rang the alarm, and the captain identified the Barbarians as launching a major offensive.
• The sentries lit the beacon, other towers relayed the yellow signal, and the Border Fortress alerted James and the territory's leadership.
• James called an emergency meeting and confirmed to Jackson that the outpost sentries were withdrawing with help from Captain Buffon's Ranger Cavalry unit.
• Researcher Solington interrupted the meeting to ask why Thunderfire Cannon No. 1 had not been moved into position, and James told him to wait.
• After assigning combat duties and dismissing the officers, James stayed behind with senior officers and Solington to explain his plan.

James watched the Iron Bone Tribe bring a huge number of elderly people, women, and children to build a camp near the Border Fortress while Barbarian Cavalry guarded them, and he reported the development to Victor. After learning that an identical camp was being built near Blue Lake Bay, Victor suspected the Faith Order had planned the fortifications.

• James welcomed the returning sentries to raise morale, then watched the Iron Bone Tribe’s force approach the Border Fortress.
• James and Jackson saw that most of the approaching Barbarians were elderly people, women, and children, and realized they were building a camp four or five kilometers from the fortress.
• Jackson proposed attacking the unfinished camp, but James refused because tens of thousands of Barbarian Cavalry guarded the construction site.
• James ordered the Border Fortress to remain alert and sent news of the camp to the War Department and Victor.
• Victor received word that the Barbarians were building an identical guarded camp near Blue Lake Bay and decided the secret Thunderfire Cannons should not be exposed.
• Victor noticed the camps’ prepared materials and organized construction plans and suspected the Faith Order was behind them.

Victor informed the Northern Frontier nobles of the Iron Bone Tribe’s invasion, while Alex organized preparations for a spring campaign and Victor assured him Two Rivers County could hold out. At the Barbarian camp, Heshima learned construction was delayed and ordered the Forward Bases sped up, planning an attack in mid-March to reduce the number of laborers consuming supplies.

• Victor relayed news of the Iron Bone Tribe’s invasion to the Northern Frontier nobles and left the two fortresses to decide how to respond to camp construction.
• Alex offered Victor reinforcements, but Victor said Two Rivers County was holding steady and asked Alex to assemble the nobles for a spring interception along the Shattered Ice River.
• Alex ordered the Northern Frontier nobles to prepare for war, while inland nobles and the Raine Kingdom provided support for the planned campaign against the Barbarians.
• A Barbarian officer reported to Heshima that most of the main force had arrived and the two Forward Bases were progressing, though the Faith Order and Lord Keledu remained days away.
• Heshima ordered the Forward Bases completed faster and planned to attack in mid-March to reduce the labor force consuming the tribe’s dwindling food stores.

Heshima dealt with the Iron Bone Tribe’s food shortage by forcing allied tribes to send raiding parties into Two Rivers County, while Jackson’s cavalry intercepted them and uncovered signs that the Barbarians might be running out of supplies. Jackson returned to the Border Fortress with prisoners for interrogation, leaving the threat behind the border unresolved.

• Heshima rejected a direct raid by Iron Bone Tribe forces and ordered small and medium-sized allied tribes to send their elites across the border to plunder Two Rivers County.
• Iron Bone Tribe forces killed resisting tribal leaders and seized their people and flocks, forcing the remaining chieftains to lead raiding parties out of the Main Camp.
• Two Rivers County sentries spotted at least seven or eight Barbarian groups crossing the border and alerted the patrol commander and Border Fortress.
• James sent Jackson with half the cavalry to deal with the incursions, and Jackson’s force destroyed two Barbarian units and learned of the Iron Bone Tribe’s orders.
• Jackson cleared out most of the invading cavalry over two days, then returned to the Border Fortress with prisoners for the Intelligence Department to interrogate.

James, Jackson, and Horne reviewed intelligence from captured tribal leaders and judged that the Iron Bone Tribe was trying to annex smaller tribes by forcing them to raid Two Rivers County. Victor approved their assessment and left the response to James.

• Konedia’s interrogation team quickly extracted intelligence from Jackson’s captives, though the tribal leaders knew little about the invasion.
• James and Jackson reviewed the testimonies, then asked Horne to assess the Iron Bone Tribe’s actions.
• Horne argued that the Iron Bone Tribe was using the raids to annex smaller tribes, while Jackson suspected it also wanted to reduce their populations amid food shortages.
• James, Jackson, and Horne concluded that annexation was the likeliest motive, and James sent their assessment to Victor by telegraph.
• James strengthened border patrols, and Jackson assigned two Light Cavalry units to help clear small Barbarian tribes.
• Victor approved James’s assessment and told him to decide how to proceed.

Heshima ordered the Iron Bone Tribe commanders to join the first attack on the enemy fortress, intending to use the battle to exhaust rival factions and strengthen his own rule. Bone Baldy volunteered to lead the operation, leaving Heshima to accept a choice he had hoped to avoid.

• Iron Bone Tribe commanders praised Heshima for seizing supplies from small tribes, while keeping much of their own loot for themselves.
• Heshima warned the commanders to distribute supplies to their troops properly and ordered them to take part in the coming assault on the fortress.
• Heshima explained that the attack would expend surplus tribal populations while using capable troops to inflict casualties on the enemy.
• The commanders hesitated to risk their forces, and Heshima reflected on his plan to crush rival factions and eventually rule as a king in the south.
• Bone Baldy volunteered to lead the operation, and the other commanders immediately supported him.
• Heshima accepted Bone Baldy's offer despite doubting his forces could achieve much.

Heshima ordered Bone Baldy to lead an operation and forced the other chieftains to provide troops, while warning them all against failure. Bone Baldy accepted to protect the small tribes, whose ranks included priests sent by Keledu, and prepared to face the consequences.

• Heshima made Bone Baldy responsible for the operation and ordered each division to send two Thousand-man squads, threatening punishment for an ugly failure.
• Several chieftains discussed sending poorly equipped men and hoped to claim Bone Baldy's wine and followers if he failed.
• Bone Baldy returned to his camp and told his trusted subordinates he had accepted the task.
• Bone Baldy explained that he had promised Keledu to protect the small tribes and feared Keledu's retaliation if the priests among them died.

Bone Baldy prepared an army to lead tens of thousands of herders toward the southerners’ fortress, while Priest Sparison planned how to protect the Faith Order’s believers and use the crisis to spread their faith. Heshima saw Bone Baldy’s army depart and approved of his preparations.

• Bone Baldy armed nearly five thousand followers with iron armor and steel weapons, then received poorly equipped troops from the other warlords.
• Bone Baldy’s artisans repaired and re-equipped the incoming troops over three days, while his force gathered at nearly twenty thousand men.
• Priest Sparison told the priests to gather believers into a separate formation, hide their weapons, and seek a safer position on the battlefield.
• Priest Sparison described the forced march as a chance to protect believers and attract more herders to the Faith Order.
• Bone Baldy’s army drove tens of thousands of herders out of camp, and Heshima praised Bone Baldy’s preparations and resolved to lessen his punishment if the operation failed.

The Barbarians reinforced their force facing the northwestern Border Fortress, prompting James to prepare for a possible attack while considering it might be a feint. Priest Sparison arranged with Bone Baldy to keep his followers out of the first assault and to treat wounded soldiers during the battle.

• The Cavalry patrols estimated that nearly eighty thousand Barbarians had reached the Forward Camp, including many capable warriors.
• James observed the enemy camp and learned that the force facing the fortress now numbered nearly two hundred thousand, with forty to fifty thousand combat-capable soldiers.
• James confirmed that Blue Lake Bay Fortress had not been reinforced and ordered the northwestern Border Fortress to prepare for an attack.
• Sparison asked Bone Baldy to keep his followers in the rear and let them tend to scattered and wounded troops.
• Bone Baldy agreed, provided Sparison also prioritized treatment for his injured soldiers.

Bone Baldy sent Barbarian herders and laborers to fill the Border Fortress’s moat, but James’s defenders cut them down with relentless arrow and crossbow fire. The first assault ended with more than half the trench filled and the survivors refusing to advance again.

• Bone Baldy organized the herders and laborers into groups while Heshima’s cavalry stayed ready to intervene if the battle went badly.
• Bone Baldy sent nearly thirty thousand herders forward, but the Border Fortress’s arrows triggered a panic and a massive retreat.
• Bone Baldy used cavalry to drive the fleeing herders away from the waiting groups, then ordered smaller waves to resume filling the trench.
• James’s archers and crossbowmen used Pulley Cocking Devices to sustain a heavy barrage, inflicting severe casualties through the morning.
• Bone Baldy threatened and executed some herders when they refused another charge, but he eventually ordered a temporary withdrawal after the trench was more than half filled.
• Cleric Sparison and his clerics tried to treat the wounded, but many weakened herders died before they could be saved.

James inspected the fortress defenses and addressed concerns about heavy-arrow consumption, arranging for skilled Cavalry archers to use War Bows and light arrows against poorly equipped attackers. The defenders had ample ammunition, though heavy-crossbow wear had reduced the unit’s firepower by ten percent.

• James questioned a crossbowman, who praised the Cocking Devices and claimed to have killed at least twenty enemies in the morning battle.
• Mata told James that his team had used half its five reserve loads of heavy arrows, while the fortress still held ample ammunition.
• The quartermaster reported that the armory contained five hundred thousand arrows, including thirty base loads of heavy arrows, and explained that most crossbowmen now used Standard Heavy Crossbows.
• James ordered Jackson and Horne to send half of their best archers to the walls to use War Bows and light arrows against enemies who lacked proper armor.
• Mata reported that more than thirty heavy crossbows had developed difficult-to-repair malfunctions, reducing the team’s firepower by ten percent.

Priest Sparison reorganized the herdsmen into squads and persuaded them to attack the fortress by promising food and supplies in exchange for wooden tokens. The herdsmen began filling the trenches under a weaker barrage of arrows, and even a frightened laborer returned for another sack after receiving his first token.

• Bone Baldy demanded that Priest Sparison mobilize the herdsmen, and Sparison agreed on the condition that he control the battle plan and receive authority and supplies.
• Sparison assigned longtime Faith Order believers and Order Warriors as leaders, organizing nearly thirty to forty thousand herdsmen and laborers into squads.
• Bone Baldy allowed Sparison to lead the forces, and the squads marched toward the fortress carrying sacks of dirt and stones.
• Faith Order leaders promised wooden tokens redeemable for food, clothing, and support to herdsmen who filled the trenches.
• The herdsmen charged through a weaker arrow barrage, and a dark-skinned laborer filled a trench, received a token, and chose to join the next round.

The Faith Order fed the herders working at Forward Camp and rewarded them with wooden tokens for surviving trench-filling runs. An instructor spotted Tuowutuo as a promising fighter, and a priest agreed to help him reach the ten-token requirement without bending the rules.

• Herders and laborers gathered for wheat porridge and mutton provided by the Faith Order after a day of dangerous work.
• Tuowutuo ate his porridge and hoped to earn three more wooden tokens so he could join the Faith Order.
• An Order Warrior told a priest that Tuowutuo had survived eight runs by skillfully reading and avoiding arrows, and argued that he should join the Warrior Corps.
• The priest insisted that Tuowutuo must earn ten tokens under Priest Sparison's rules, but suggested giving him leather armor to improve his chances.
• The priest learned that the herder's name was Tuowutuo and hoped to see him in the Warrior Corps.
• The Faith Order continued searching among the trench-filling herders for recruits to replenish its forces.

On the second day of the standoff, the Faith Order expanded and reorganized the Barbarian labor force while recruiting capable workers into its ranks. Tuowutuo struggled to command his unit, then learned how to build a loyal following and acquire weapons on credit.

• Priest Sparison expanded the Faith Order’s force to six ten-thousand-man units as more Barbarian laborers volunteered, while Chief Bone Baldy supported the effort so long as the moat-filling continued.
• The Faith Order appointed Tuowutuo captain of a hundred-man squad and offered him rewards for meeting a grass-sack quota, but his men threw only eighty sacks during the morning.
• After Tuowutuo asked for help, the Faith Order killed three troublemakers in his unit, and an Order Warrior advised him to recruit subordinates and command the rest more firmly.
• Tuowutuo realized he could use rewards to win followers and asked to buy weapons; the Order Warrior offered him steel swords on credit and explained how the Faith Order detected forged wooden tokens.

Tuowutuo organized his unit to transport grass sacks, earning his subordinates’ loyalty as the Barbarians’ trench-filling operations progressed. At the Border Fortress, James realized the trenches were nearly filled and feared the moat would be filled that day unless he found a way to stop the attackers.

• Tuowutuo accepted ten steel blades from an Order Warrior and chose ten obedient men to supervise his unit.
• Tuowutuo’s men transported more than four hundred grass sacks, and he distributed his wooden tokens among his ten subordinates.
• Tuowutuo cared for an injured subordinate and used a wooden token to buy him meat, earning greater respect from his men.
• James observed that the Iron Bone Tribe’s attacks had become better organized and that the fortress’s trenches were nearly filled.
• James and his officers concluded that the trenches and moat might be filled that day unless they could stop the Barbarian trench-filling units.

James ordered a powerful arrow barrage and a cavalry counterattack to punish the Barbarian trench-filling force and restore the defenders’ morale. Bone Baldy returned to camp after the rout and asked Priest Sparison how to proceed.

• James and his officers decided to strike the Barbarians after their trench-filling efforts damaged the defenders’ morale.
• James ordered archers and heavy crossbow troops to unleash a rapid, concentrated barrage that devastated the advancing herdsmen and Tuowutuo’s unit.
• Tuowutuo escaped the arrow fire with two confidants and ordered the survivors to retreat toward camp.
• Northlands Cavalry charged from the fortress, routed the disorganized Barbarian force, and withdrew safely behind the walls.
• Bone Baldy abandoned the attack, returned to camp, and summoned Priest Sparison for advice.

After a fierce enemy counterattack disrupted the trench-filling operation, Bone Baldy and Sparison reorganized their forces and planned to resume at a slower pace. Tuowutuo gained command of two squads and received more weapons on credit as the Faith Order considered him a promising recruit.

• Bone Baldy and Sparison discussed the losses and agreed to resume trench-filling more cautiously, with Bone Baldy guarding the fortress exits.
• The Barbarian camp reorganized its troops, reducing six units to five and assigning commanders to the reshuffled squads.
• Tuowutuo was appointed joint captain of two squads, though most of his trusted subordinates had died or been wounded.
• Tuowutuo asked an Order Warrior for more swords on credit, and the warrior gave him ten steel swords and five small leather shields.
• The Order Warrior warned Tuowutuo to stay cautious in the next battle and saw him as a valuable potential recruit for the Faith Order.

James and the Two Rivers Legion defended the Border Fortress as the Barbarians filled the moats and trenches, then launched a costly assault. After failing to scale the walls with ladders, the Barbarians built earthen slopes that finally gave their warriors a route up to the fortress.

• James abandoned plans for another surprise raid after Barbarian cavalry guarded the fortress exits, and the defenders let the Barbarians finish filling the moats and trenches.
• The defenders strengthened their positions as the Barbarians organized five Ten-thousand-man squads and began attacking the fortress with ladders.
• The fortress defenders easily toppled the ladders and killed large numbers of herders, but Bone Baldy continued ordering them forward.
• Priest Sparison proposed piling grass sacks against the walls to form earthen slopes, and Bone Baldy ordered the Barbarians to adopt the plan.
• After nearly ten more days of fighting, the defenders had killed an estimated forty to fifty thousand herders, but the Barbarians completed three slopes high enough for warriors to charge toward the walls.

Bone Baldy praised Priest Sparison for completing three earthen ramps, while they discussed the heavy casualties and the Faith Order’s coming reinforcements and supplies. Tuowutuo inspected his depleted unit and prepared himself for the battles ahead.

• Bone Baldy praised Priest Sparison for completing the three earthen ramps and promised him the Forward Camp’s remaining manpower and supplies.
• Priest Sparison accepted the manpower but told Bone Baldy to keep the supplies, explaining that Lord Keledu was bringing support and that Great Chieftain Heshima would soon inspect the operation.
• Bone Baldy declared the operation successful because the enemy fortress’s defenses had nearly been torn down.
• Tuowutuo inspected his unit, mourned the familiar faces lost in the fighting, and noted that nearly fifty of his men were now armed with Faith Order equipment.
• Tuowutuo set aside his pride at becoming a minor chieftain and reminded himself to stay calm before the coming battles.