The battle of Lake Tampion (Day 5) -- WRETCHED STATE

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Date Posted: 11:50:07 06/04/00 Sun
Author: Earl Tampion
Subject: The battle of Lake Tampion (Day 5)

"The time has come, signal the men to proceed.", the Tancan high general in command of forces at lake Tampion commanded. Through the mists of early morning, a host of rafts and boats was manned and pushed into the water. Roughly 20000 men and a score of some 3000 slaves begun their journey over the lake.

...

The lookout on the west docks of lake Tampion tried piercing the morning fog with his eyes with little success. In the silence of the morning however, a sound of water splashing periodically begun to echo closer and closer.
He signalled the imminent attack.

Blekengus was fast awake already and acknowledged the sign of approaching attack showing little emotion. Baron Ringular just finished his morning checkup of the defense forces, walking down the shore line.
"It has begun.", Blekengus noted.

...

Whips crackled on the larger barges pushing the slaves to work harder. On the commanding vessel, General Kancore eyed the mysts still hanging over the lake. No sound save shouting of the slave pushers and periodical splashing of the rafts against the water was heard. Kancore was not one to frighten easily, but he cherished open conflict, where he could see clearly what enemy he faced... this foggy morning filled his mind with unease, and he realized all too well how vulnerable his forces were if...
"Slow down this barge," he commanded suddenly to his commander standing right next to him.
"And signal half of our heavy machinery barges to wait with us." Pausing for a moment, thinking, he continued. "Also keep the mercenary squads here with us."
"General?" His commander replied in question. "Aren't we going to push as fast as we can through this lake..."

"We do not see what awaits us on the other shore because of this wretched fog," Kancore cut him off dryly. "If someone is setting a surprise for us on the other side, I don't want to be caught completely unprepared..."

Approximately one third of the Tancan force fell back silently, splitting the force in two.

...

In their hidding, western shore Tampion defenders observed closely as Tancan ships passed the first line where the trap was to be sprung... until the last ship passed them, and to the open side of the lake, only fog could be seen again...
"Were you able to count them all?" Baron Ringular asked the lookout with uncertainty.
"I cannot be certain sire, with all this fog... it looked like there were all of them but..."
Blegenkus interrupted. "Baron, if we don't set the trap in motion NOW, we may not get a second chance... especially if this was not the entire force, and part is waiting outside our sights..."

Earl of Tampion looked at the lake, then back at Blegenkus and Ringular. "Proceed", he said.

...

The nets between northern and southern shore were raised, and catapults readied, roughly 1500 archers readied their bows.
As if the skies were to help the defenders, mysts begun to clear up at the inner part of the lake, where the captured Tancan force was to be...

"Fire!", commanded Blegenkus in his booming voice, and the same moment fire signal was given to the other sides of the shore. In the next moments all hell broke loose, and hell it was, what the Tancan caught between the Tampion defense line faced.

A Tancan warrior watched how the mysts begun to rise, allowing him to get a good glance at the other shore of the lake, and a sun ray breaking through the mountains brought a smile to his face... which suddenly changed expression as his eyes bulged, looking down at his chest to see it pierced by an arrow.
A stone boulder crashed into one of the big barges, whoose wodden frame cracked open like an egg shell... ship begun to sink. What followed seemed like sky begun to rain fire upon the Tancan force.
Arrows were coming from every direction, ships were bombarded with boulders from invisible attackers on the shore... Some of the barbarians panicked... yet there was nowhere to run. Those that did not die from arrows were faced with the dark cold waters of Lake Tampion, and for many that was certain death, since the barbarians were notoriously bad swimmers...
Unfortunately slaves drowned with their torturers just the same... being dragged down with the ships and the chains they were bound with...

Earl of Tampion watched the carnage in silence, battlefield being obscured more by the smokes of fire now then the fog that still howered over parts of the lake. His fists clutched in anger when seeing innocent people die along with the Tancan...

Barbarian forces did not panick for long though, and although badly organized, the force on the lake begun to resist the surprise attackers. The few barges with catapults that were still left begun to fire back at the shore... first blindly, and with each passing moment more accurately. The force carrying rafts attempted to reach shores to engage their enemy where their larger forces could count... But for the time being, all their attempts served just to them being slaughtered...

Blegenkus fired his own bow with rest of the defenders, but soon that was not enough to satisfy his fighting spirit. He noticed few smaller rafts closing the shore, and although they kept being cut down more were coming relentlessly, and the small number of defenders had little chances of keeping them all from reaching the shore.
He turned to Baron Ringular. "I think I will go help our ground forces hold those away..." pointing at the boats closing the shore.
Just then, from within the thicker fog at center of the lake outside the 'trap', more ships begun to appear.

Ringulare's face fell further, but Blegenkus did not share the sentiment. "Seems like our barbarian friends were smarter then we give them credit for. Too bad it won't help them much." he added with a confident smirk.

The barges with heavy weapons from the new force attempted to get close enough to fire back at defender's own catapults, while the rest of the force headed for the western docks.
The Tancan first force's catapult barges were mostly disabled or destroyed by then, and the Tampion forces catapults begun firing at the new threat, while archers continued firing at the first.

Ringulare observed the course of battle, thinking what to do next.
"We will not be able to hold both forces from reaching the shore. We must make a stand on one side."

"Agreed," replied Blegenkus. "And since we have archers scattered throughout the three sides of the shore, it would loose us too much time to reposition them... We will make our stand at the docks.", that said he unsheated his giant sword and proceeded to organize the ground defense.

...

The battle flared in true heat by now. Defenders suffered first casulties as the Tancan's reinforcements brought new hope into the first force, which now fought with renewed vigor. Catapults exchanged fire, and although Tancan lost many, remaining weapons were still much more numerous then what defenders had, and their fire, although erratic, begun to cause damage. Archers fired back from some of the barges also, though mostly with little effect.

The mercenary force along with Kancore's main squad made it's way towards the docks of the western shore with little problems though. Some ships were lost to catapult fire, but there was next to no archer fire opposing them...
Tampion ground forces readied to defend the shore however. Roughly 900 men with Blegenkus and Ringulare at their lead were facing 3000-4000 Kancore's men.
Catapult fire intensified to the incoming threat, but it was too little, too late. First ships rocked with the ground, and barbarian men poured out...
Metal clashed against metal, men screamed in agony, and even before Kancore's barge landed, the battle was in full heat...
Baron Ringulare fought with cold and deadly anger, as did every one of his men that joined the ground force. There was little they could do for what happened to the people of their own lands when they were driven out of there by Tancan, but right now, every sword counted in an attempt to protect at least this land from same story happening all over again...
Blegenkus on the other hand stood in the midst of the heaviest battle like a giant that he was, seemingly untouchable, as his sword and lance showered death among barbarian warriors. He would crack a skull open with his bare hand while the other cut down two enemies at the same time.
Covered in blood, Tampion defenders fought bitterly, and at first even pushed the much more numerous enemy back by sheer fiercness of their advance. Yet their numbers grew thinner by each passing moment, and once Kancore's main squad joined the battle, the Tancan began to slowly push them backwards...
Several giant men, mercenaries that joined Tancan in their thirst for carnage, half trolls in their heritage, begun cutting into defending lines deep... Two of them swung giant axes that seemed to stop at nothing... Until one stroke against a blade of a sword of similar proportions.
With roaring laughter, Blegenkus faced the wild man which towered even him by a headsize. A hack later, the wild man was no longer a head taller. The other jumped to help his comrade but was cut down by Baron Ringulare from behind.

Still the enemies numbers were too strong, and defenders grew weaker yet. Tancan force pushed hard to breach the defense and reach behind their lines where cataputs that held their forces on the lake at bay were...
Tampion men fought well... each one that fell took two of his enemies with him but it was not enough...
Ringulare and Blegenkus were forced back as well, and suddenly they found themselves surrounded by enemies. They leaned their backs against each other...
"How about making a couple of those shish-ka-bob's from Tancan soldiers right now Blegenkus?", Ringulare said grimly, slashing an enemy in two.
The giant knight replied by hacking off two enemy soldier's heads.
"Do those with heads loopped off qualify?" he spoke while blocking an attacker sword, and strangling another warrior with his other hand.

An arrow came flying, piercing Blegenkus'es left shoulder.
"Moskito bite," he said dismissingly, noticing it about as much as a needle sting, looping off another enemy head.
Ringulare fell down on his right knee just moments later, as another arrow pierced his thigh. The tancan soldier that tried to take advantage of that regretted it the next moment as Baron's sword pierced his heart.

Just as defense forces seemed overwhelmed, a battle cry of a war animal echoed over the battlefield. Tancan soldiers looked up, many of them just to face death from claws of a war griffen. Tampion men cheered at this unexpected help and fought harder yet. In the meantime, more barbarian ships landed...

Jax burried his claws into barbarian forces again and again. Some of the more superstitious barbarians ran, but most still stayed and fought. One of the wildmen mercenearies spinned a large battle lance like it was made of paper, and threw it at Jax as he made another aerial pass, bruising him.
Jax stumbled and retreated upwards for a few moments.

Battle raged on, and reinforced Tancan begun to push ahead yet again... Ringulare and Blegenkus still stood their ground together, both bleeding from several wounds by now.
General Kancore himself entered the battle and made his way towards them.
Ringulare had blood covering his left eye, and felt that he was nearing exhaustion, as he faced the Tancan general. One of the generals that participated in destruction of his homeland...
Blegenkus fought off another soldier, and brought up his sword just in time to block the next attacker. But this time, the blow shook him almost off balance. The giant wildman that wounded Jax faced Blegankus now, holding a battle mace about the size of an average man.

Ringulare dodged the first attack just barely, and parried the slash from Kancore's battle axe. General that held the short sword and an axe stepping away for a moment. Ringulare followed in, separating himself from Blegenkus. Axe flew ahead again and Baron lanced it away. His strength gave out though, leaving open space for Kancore's attack with his short sword.
But the attack never came, as the entire arm was torn off from general Kancore by a griffen claw. Ringulare didn't need to think twice and finished off the Tancan general with a quick slash.
He turned just to see Blegenkus was on the ground, giant man towering high above him. The knight's sword stabbed deep into the wildman's heart, yet the mercenary did not drop. Wild man brought the mace high up in an attempt to finish off Blegenkus, and at that moment Ringulare's sword came flying, piercing his troat.
But Tancan forces were already in chaos before the realization that their general has just been killed. Earl of Tampion led a charge of a hundred horsemen along with his personal guard, and few more hundred archers that he pulled off from the coast defense. Barbarian forces were thrown into dissarray, and soon their defeat was imminent.

Earl rode up to Blegenkus and Ringulare, who were leaning on each other limping off the battlefield. "Nice work gentleman", Earl said with a smile. "You have managed to hold off their forces long enough for us to eliminate or disable what was still on the lake."
Ringulare spoke back weakly. "So we've won?"
"By all means Baron. There is still about 4-5 thousand tankan left stranded in the lake, but I believe they will be quick to surrender now that their ground assualt has been smashed."
"It was the griffen...", said Blegenkus. "Much as I hate to admit it, without him we would have probably been overrun."
"Yes, Jax was supposed to help out at Cree, but apparently they can count on the dragon there from what he told me." Earl explained. "In any case gentleman, take some rest, you've deserved it. I think we can take it from here." He turned his horse to ride away but was stopped by a sight of soldiers bringing bodies from the barges.
All three watched silently as they saw those were all belonging to 'slaves' Tancan had harvested on their rampages... All the barges that carried any were either sunk, or they landed in this final assault. But Tancan killed all of the slaves before they disembarked the ships...
A body of young girl that couldn't have been more then 16 was carried by the three men by a soldier. Signs of molestation and beating were quite clear... and her throat was slit open.
Three men now also remembered last night's carnage all too clearly.

A messanger came up to Earl Tampion. "Sire, the remnants of Tancan forces on the lake are signalling surrender. I have been sent to ask if we accept?"
Baron Ringulare's face was expressing silent pain mixed with rage as they exchanged looks with the Earl, who's sentiments, though less expressed, were not much different.
After a certain time passed in silence, the messanger asked again. "Sire?"
Earl turned to him.
"Wipe them out...!", gritting his teeth he paused. "All of them."

continued...

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