Recaps

The Barbarians withdrew most of their siege engines under the fortress defenders’ Catapult bombardment, then continued the siege with herders and slaves building ramps under fire. Their laborers panicked and fled, forcing the enforcement squads to collapse and ending the assault without meaningful progress.

• Heshima ordered the Barbarian Catapults to withdraw, but the Two Rivers Legion’s Catapults destroyed most of them as they retreated.
• Keledu advised Heshima to leave conspicuous siege equipment behind for modification, and the Barbarians continued their siege work with herders and enforcement squads.
• The fortress defenders’ ranged troops focused on the exposed herders and slaves, inflicting mounting casualties until the laborers panicked and fled.
• James recognized the mass panic and ordered the defenders to target the enforcement squads, which soon broke apart as the fleeing herders overwhelmed them.
• Heshima learned the enforcement squads’ commander had been killed by a Bed Crossbow and that the ramps remained too short to support an assault.

Heshima ordered the Dire Wolf Guard to slaughter fleeing Barbarian herders and slaves, then force the survivors back toward the Border Fortress. When the defenders stopped the advance with arrows, Viscount James’s Cavalry offered the herders food and safety if they followed them, and began guiding them toward the fortress’s side gates.

• Heshima sent the Dire Wolf Guard to kill fleeing herders and slaves and drive the survivors back beneath the city walls.
• The Dire Wolf Guard slaughtered the fugitives, leaving the Iron Bone Tribe with roughly half its original herder force.
• Border Fortress defenders fired on the advancing herders and then on the supervisory troops, leaving the herders stranded in the battlefield.
• Heshima prepared to use archers to force the herders onward, but several hundred Cavalry emerged from the fortress and offered them food and safety under Viscount James.
• Some herders followed the Cavalry toward the fortress’s side gates, and scouts reported the movement to Heshima.

Heshima sent cavalry to follow Barbarian herders into the fortress, but the defenders trapped and destroyed the force in the Barbican. The surviving herders were detained for inspection, while the Two Rivers County cavalry emerged victorious and claimed the fallen soldiers’ horses.

• Heshima ordered a Commander of Ten Thousand to follow the herders through the fortress gate and seize the city gates.
• Two Rivers County defenders attacked the cavalry with grapeshot, arrows, logs, and stones, then trapped the troops inside the Barbican.
• The defenders killed the trapped Barbarian soldiers, including the Commander of Ten Thousand, while Heshima’s army outside mistakenly thought its troops had succeeded.
• Two Rivers County cavalry emerged from the fortress and escorted the remaining herders inside, revealing the Iron Bone Tribe’s defeat.
• Two Rivers County soldiers gathered the dead soldiers’ horses and moved the herders into barracks behind the fortress for inspection and observation.

James’s defenders turned the Barbarians’ use of herders and slaves as cannon fodder into an opportunity, rescuing tens of thousands and defeating the assault with few losses. After distributing battle credit, James ordered the garrison to rest while the Barbarians’ cavalry prowled outside the fortress.

• James’s troops guided Barbarian herders and slaves through a side gate into the fortress’s Barbican and sheltered them in underground trenches.
• The garrison destroyed a Barbarian Cavalry unit that tried to enter the Barbican, then brought another twenty to thirty thousand herders and slaves into the fortress.
• Captured soldiers confirmed that the Barbarians had lost two Commanders of Ten Thousand, and Soyasdin shared credit for one commander’s death with James.
• James awarded the credit for the other commander’s death to the Bed Crossbow unit and gave the catapult unit’s credit to Capor.
• James declined officers’ requests to attack the taunting Barbarian Cavalry and ordered the troops to rest in shifts, with reserves keeping watch.

After the failed assault, Keledu proposed ways to protect the Barbarians’ siege engines from the castle’s fire weapons and argued that cannon fodder was obstructing the archers. The war council considered his countermeasures, while an Iron Bone Tribe commander explained that heavier pressure on the walls could draw enemy catapult fire away from their archers.

• Heshima, facing heavy losses and growing doubts, turned to Keledu to break the silence at the war council.
• Keledu proposed covering siege engines with felt soaked in water and frozen overnight to resist the enemy’s fire weapons.
• Bone Baldy questioned whether the icy felt would make the siege engines too heavy, and Keledu suggested using draft animals to transport them.
• Keledu argued that cannon-fodder troops crowded the battle lines and prevented the Barbarians from deploying enough archers.
• An Iron Bone Tribe Commander of Ten Thousand reported that only three thousand of his eight thousand archers had reached the front and said pressure from siege troops could force enemy catapults to target the siege engines instead.

Keledu and Ba Lie argued that the Barbarians had failed because they used too few archers and relied on cannon fodder to pressure the fortress. As the chiefs split over how many elite warriors to risk, Heshima realized his strategy of minimizing his own losses while weakening rival tribes had undermined the army.

• Barbarian officers and chiefs blamed the herders and slaves who had served as cannon fodder for the defeat.
• Keledu recognized that Ba Lie was right that the siege force had failed to pressure the defenders enough.
• Ba Lie proposed using two or three times as many archers and sending in the finest warriors to pin down the fortress defenders.
• The chiefs argued over whether taking the fortress justified risking heavy losses among their tribes’ elite warriors.
• Heshima realized that relying on cannon fodder had hurt morale without sparing his elite troops, and that he might as well have sent them in from the start.

Heshima rallied the Barbarian leaders around a renewed assault on the Border Fortress, promising plunder and rewards while ordering preparations for an elite attack. As the Barbarian camp celebrated and slaughtered livestock, James learned of their unusual confidence and grew vigilant.

• Heshima ended the leaders’ quarrel and ordered every tribe to prepare its elite forces for another assault within Keledu’s limited window for using water-frozen felt.
• Heshima promised the attackers three days of unrestricted plunder after the fortress fell and offered the Faith Order one-fifth of each tribe’s spoils, despite Keledu’s refusal.
• Heshima ordered cattle and sheep slaughtered to feed the warriors, and the Barbarian leaders agreed to send their elites while limiting the number of cannon fodder troops.
• The Barbarian camp celebrated and grew confident about the next battle as its troops prepared for the siege.
• Lookouts at the Two Rivers County Border Fortress reported the enemy’s jubilant activity, and James became vigilant after receiving the intelligence.

After the Border Fortress repelled a major Barbarian attack, James strengthened its defenses, submitted battle reports, and requested further support. Victor praised the victory after learning the Barbarians had suffered heavy losses while the fortress garrison lost few men.

• James judged that the Barbarians remained determined to attack again and decided to request more support from Victor.
• James had the reserve troops relieve the fortress garrison and used newly arrived weapons and ammunition to replenish supplies.
• James prepared a brief battle report for telegraph transmission and a detailed report with his plans for the next stage of operations.
• James sent both reports through the army’s communications channels, with the detailed report headed back to Woodfort City.
• Victor read the brief report and praised James for repelling the attack, killing two Commanders of Ten Thousand, and inflicting heavy losses with few casualties.

Victor ordered a victorious battle report circulated across Two Rivers County, easing public anxiety and revealing the need to strengthen the territory’s newspapers and media. The report also reassured merchants who had considered leaving, though the territory’s trade still depended heavily on their staying.

• Victor refused the Internal Guard Department’s request to punish officials who had discussed the war and decided to use newspapers to promote unity and confidence.
• Victor ordered the battle report distributed through government and military channels and printed in the next day’s newspapers.
• Officials and residents in Woodfort City celebrated the report’s account of the Two Rivers Legion’s victory, and the newspapers quickly sold out.
• The report spread across Two Rivers County and its vassal territories, lifting morale among residents, officials, militiamen, and soldiers’ relatives.
• Merchants and commercial associations grew less eager to leave, and Baron Rabik told Victor the victory report had helped the Commerce Department avoid costly concessions.

After reviewing James’s victory report, Victor sent reinforcements and repair technicians to the Northwestern Border Fortress while worrying that the Barbarians would soon escalate their attacks at Blue Lake Bay. There, Marvin decided to counterattack and clear the settlements the enemy had occupied.

• Victor read James’s battle report, judged the next Barbarian assault would be stronger, and sent two thousand reserve troops and repair technicians to the Northwestern Border Fortress.
• Victor forwarded the report to the Army Department to be turned into a military case study and worried about the less-fortified Blue Lake Bay Fortress.
• Marvin observed that Barbarians had occupied nearby settlements and were using them to harass the Small Fortresses with arrows and raids.
• Marvin noted that the Small Fortress garrisons had suffered more than three hundred casualties despite repelling the attacks.
• Marvin decided to counterattack and clear the settlements near the Blue Lake Bay Fortress.

Marvin sent Saster to lead a night raid against the Barbarian-held settlements near Blue Lake Bay, where the raiders would mark buildings for the fortress Catapults to set ablaze. As the force set out, Saster encouraged Big John, a sixteen-year-old militiaman, with the chance to enlist in the Two Rivers Legion.

• Marvin warned Saster that the raid was dangerous and told him to retreat if the Barbarians discovered the force.
• Saster prepared three hundred raiders to split into four squads and use Oil-Flame Bombs to mark buildings for the Catapults.
• Marvin ordered the raiders out through the Main Fortress gates under cover of darkness.
• Saster told Big John that a successful mission could earn him enlistment in the Two Rivers Legion despite his age.
• Big John assured the veterans that he knew the local roads and vowed to become a soldier and officer.

Saster gathered the four squads at the rendezvous point and reviewed their assignments for a night raid on the Small Fortresses. He warned them to retreat if necessary to protect their men, but insisted the mission had to succeed to protect the copper mine and the Blue Lake Bay Garrison’s supply route.

• Saster’s unit reached the rendezvous point, and the other three squads arrived safely over the next dozen minutes.
• Saster and the squad leaders counted their men and supplies, then concealed the force among shrubs beside a hill.
• Saster assigned each squad a village to target and confirmed that the squad leaders understood their tasks.
• Saster relayed Marvin’s warning to avoid getting bogged down in fighting and to prioritize the soldiers’ survival.
• Saster explained that losing the Small Fortresses could let the Barbarians seize the copper mine, threaten the railway, and cut off the garrison’s route outside Blue Lake Bay.
• Saster declared that he did not want to abandon the Small Fortresses and that the mission could not fail.

Saster led a night raid on Front Bay Village to set fires that would guide the fortress catapults. After reaching the village undetected, his squad crawled through a filthy drainage ditch toward its target.

• Saster sent four squads toward their targets after the Small Fortresses began drawing the Barbarians into battle.
• Big John and two other militiamen guided Saster’s squad into Front Bay Village while the Barbarians mustered against the fortress attacks.
• Big John grew angry at the damage to his former home as he led the squad through the village and around Barbarian patrols.
• Big John showed Saster the drainage ditch as a concealed route across the exposed threshing ground.
• Saster’s squad crawled through the frozen filth in the ditch, determined to strike the Barbarian warriors.

Saster's night raid force reached the courtyards and attacked the Barbarian archers gathered there. The squad killed most of the defenders but still had to eliminate the survivors before they could raise an alarm.

• The night raid force discovered that roughly one hundred elite Barbarian archers were assembling across five courtyards.
• Saster split his soldiers into five teams, and Old Scarface led one team toward a courtyard entrance.
• Old Scarface kicked open the door and led a shield formation into the courtyard as crossbowmen fired through the gaps.
• The raiders killed more than a dozen Barbarians in a few breaths, then rushed the remaining defenders with their weapons.
• The surviving Barbarian warriors tried to arm themselves or flee deeper into the courtyard, while the raiders fought to prevent them from raising an alarm.

Saster’s night-raid force cleared the Barbarian-held courtyards and set them ablaze with modified Fire Oil Bombs, completing most of its mission. As a large Barbarian force approached, Saster let the other squads withdraw while his personal squad stayed behind, and the fortress catapults began striking the burning buildings.

• Old Scarface saved Big John from a hidden Barbarian archer by deflecting an arrow, and a veteran killed the archer with a hand crossbow.
• The Saster Squad wiped out the remaining Barbarians in the courtyards, then Saster sent the wounded and nine lightly injured soldiers back along a safe route.
• Saster’s men spread fire oil, positioned Fire Oil Bombs, and ignited the courtyards on his signal; the flames turned pale green as the copper powder took effect.
• A large Barbarian force advanced toward the burning courtyards, so Saster ordered the other squads to withdraw while his personal squad stayed behind.
• Fireballs from the fortress catapults struck the courtyards, intensifying the blaze.

Saster’s squad completed its raid with a barrage of Oil-Flame Bombs, then raced back to the Small Fortress while Barbarian troops pursued them. The fortress commander realized Saster had been left outside and prepared to haul his squad over the walls because reopening the gate was too dangerous.

• Saster’s squad set the surrounding area and several Barbarian soldiers ablaze with a barrage of Oil-Flame Bombs, then withdrew toward the Small Fortress.
• The Barbarians spotted Saster’s fleeing squad and pursued them as the other raiders reached the fortress and entered through the side gate.
• Old Scarface and the others told the fortress commander that Deputy Regimental Commander Saster was still outside, and the commander realized he had shut his superior out.
• A sentry reported that Saster’s squad was approaching with several hundred Barbarians behind them, so the detachment leader ordered ranged troops to cover them.
• The detachment leader had defenders lower hoist baskets to bring Saster’s squad over the wall rather than risk opening the gate.

Saster and his squad escaped to the battlements after a raid that set five Barbarian settlements ablaze, while Marvin confirmed the bombardment’s success from the Main Fortress. Shikele regrouped his exhausted army and postponed a planned assault on the fortresses until noon, as the Small Fortress garrisons mistakenly celebrated the Barbarian withdrawal as a victory.

• Saster and his squad reached the battlements safely, helped the garrison repel the pursuing Barbarians, and watched the flames spread through the settlements.
• Marvin learned that the Catapult unit had struck all five targets with Fire Oil Bombs and worried about Saster’s raiding party.
• Shikele used elite troops, herders, and slaves to contain the fires, while the Barbarian army suffered around two thousand deaths.
• Shikele planned an attack on the fortresses but postponed it until noon so his exhausted troops could rest and reorganize.
• The Barbarians withdrew their frontline troops to camp, and the Small Fortress garrisons cheered, believing they had driven the enemy back.

After the night raid, Marvin received the returning squads and learned that the 300-man force had suffered 62 casualties, though the regiment could recover its strength. He praised the militiamen who had guided the raiders and enlisted the distinguished ones into the Fourth Regiment, including Big John.

• The wounded men sent ahead by Saster reached the Main Fortress, and Marvin arranged medical care while hearing their account of the raid.
• The raiding units returned to the Main Fortress, and the final tally recorded 19 dead and 43 wounded among the 300 raiders.
• Saster reported the raid's details to Marvin, who regretted not sending more troops against the Barbarian camp and urged Saster to rest.
• Marvin commended the uninjured militiamen who had served as guides and promised to report their achievements to the Army Department.
• Marvin enlisted the distinguished militiamen into the Fourth Regiment, and Big John became a soldier in the First Ten-Man Squad of the First Squad, Third Squadron, Sixth Detachment.

Big John received his regular army equipment and rested as the Blue Lake Bay Garrison prepared for a renewed Barbarian assault. Marvin signaled the smaller fortresses to fight at full strength, and their defenders repelled the first siege before both sides prepared for another attack.

• Big John received his uniform and armor, ran laps around camp, ate breakfast, and returned to his quarters to sleep.
• Marvin saw the Barbarian army advance toward the fortresses and raised battle flags ordering the smaller garrisons to fight without holding back.
• The smaller fortresses deployed heavy crossbows and organized their defenders into rotating groups, while the Main Fortress prepared artillery support.
• The Barbarians attacked the smaller fortresses with shield wagons, ladders, and grappling hooks, but defenders used trenches, crossbows, logs, and boulders to stop them.
• After more than two hours, the Barbarian commanders reported to Shikele and withdrew their forces.
• The smaller fortress commander sent his soldiers to rest and used the reserve to recover logs and boulders for the next assault.

The defenders of Blue Lake Bay repelled an Iron Bone Tribe cavalry raid on their supply-gathering party, but the Barbarians quickly launched another assault with a fresh stock of siege ladders. The defenders struggled to hold the walls as Iron Bone Tribe enforcers forced the herders and slaves to keep climbing.

• An Iron Bone Tribe cavalry unit charged the defenders gathering supplies, but crossbow fire helped them retreat to the walls before the riders withdrew.
• The fortress commander recognized the cavalry as elite Iron Bone Tribe riders and ordered the remaining supplies inside the fortress brought up to the walls.
• Shikele sent another force to attack Blue Lake Bay soon after the cavalry returned, using ladders made in bulk by craftsmen, herders, and slaves in the Main Camp.
• The defenders exhausted their logs and stones, then cut grappling ropes and shoved ladders away as Barbarian herders climbed toward the walls.
• Iron Bone Tribe enforcers shot any Barbarian herders or slaves who tried to retreat, keeping the assault going.

Catapult and Bed Crossbow support helped the Small Fortress repel the Barbarian assault, and Shikele ordered another retreat after realizing the Main Fortress had been left free to aid its defenders. The Small Fortress commander tended to the wounded, restored the defenses, and let his soldiers rest, expecting fiercer fighting the next day.

• Catapult crews at Blue Lake Bay's Main Fortress hurled stones at the walls, knocking down climbing Barbarians and breaking the assault's momentum.
• Bed Crossbow crews fired on Barbarians attacking the Small Fortress walls facing the Main Fortress, while its defenders drove back those who climbed over.
• Shikele recognized that his failure to pressure the Main Fortress let its ranged troops support the Small Fortresses, so he ordered the Barbarian army to retreat.
• The Small Fortress commander sent the wounded for treatment, counted the casualties, and ordered the fallen identified and the battlefield cleared.
• The commander had food and water brought to the walls, where the soldiers ate and kept their spirits up.
• After waiting until sunset for another attack, the commander sent the soldiers down to rest in shifts.

The Barbarians launched another assault on Blue Lake Bay, attacking both the Small Fortress and the Main Fortress with elite Iron Bone Tribe warriors among their ranks. The Small Fortress defenders repelled the climbers with recovered logs and stones, then poured boiling Golden Juice down the walls.

• A sentry at the Small Fortress spotted the returning Barbarian army, and alarm bells sounded across Blue Lake Bay.
• The Small Fortress detachment leader sent for reinforcements after seeing the Barbarians attack the Main Fortress and realizing ranged support might be unavailable.
• The Barbarians assaulted the fortresses with siege ladders, shield carts, and Iron Bone Tribe elite warriors mixed into their ranks.
• The defenders killed many attackers with Heavy Crossbows, then hurled recovered logs and boulders down the walls, breaking ladders and disrupting the assault.
• After the defenders ran out of logs and stones, they poured the Territory Research Institute's boiling Golden Juice onto the climbing Barbarians, scalding them and knocking them from the walls.

The Small Fortress defenders used boiling Golden Juice and specially made Fire Oil to repel the Barbarian attack, causing the siege force to collapse into a rout. The commander saw smoke rising from other Small Fortresses but remained worried as Barbarians continued scaling the Main Fortress walls.

• The Barbarians resumed their assault after military police and elite troops restored order, while the defenders used up their boiled Golden Juice.
• The defenders poured barrels of Fire Oil down the walls, then ignited it with torches and flaming arrows.
• The flames engulfed the Barbarians beneath the walls, and their siege force broke into a chaotic retreat.
• The Small Fortress commander saw smoke rising from other Small Fortresses and inferred that they had also used Fire Oil.
• The commander saw Barbarians climbing the Main Fortress walls and worried that its fall would endanger the Small Fortresses.

Marvin directed the defense of the Main Fortress while refusing to leave the walls, wanting to watch the fighting at the Small Fortresses. After Saster arrived, Marvin finally went down and handed over command as the Barbarians retreated from the Small Fortresses.

• Marvin kept the defenders organized as they repelled Barbarians who had reached the Main Fortress walls.
• The Third Detachment Commander urged Marvin to take shelter, but Marvin refused so he could observe the other fortresses.
• Marvin explained that the smoke rising from several Small Fortresses likely came from defenders using their Fire Oil.
• The Barbarians attacking the Small Fortresses fell into disarray and retreated in scattered groups.
• Saster arrived and persuaded Marvin to leave the walls, then ordered the Third Detachment Commander to follow their usual defensive plan.

Saster manipulated the Barbarian assault at the Main Fortress, drawing the front-line troops into renewed attacks after their commander ordered a withdrawal. Shikele withdrew the forces under his control and left the disobedient officers to continue fighting alone.

• Saster and the Third Detachment commander realized the Barbarians were easing their assault and preparing to withdraw.
• Saster ordered the defenders to weaken their ranged attack, tempting Barbarian officers to halt the withdrawal and send more troops onto the wall.
• The Barbarian front-line commanders ignored Shikele's repeated orders to withdraw and intensified their assault, while the defenders contained the troops who reached the wall.
• Shikele, unable to discipline the officers without risking unrest, ordered his own forces to withdraw and planned to report their disobedience to Great Chieftain Heshima.