RP:Defending Cenril;Tactics and Strategy

From HollowWiki

Part of the Conquest:The Return of the Prek Arc


Summary: The build up of Cenril defenses continues as Fold officers determine the overall strategy for the tactical defense of Cenril. Knight Commander Lucia arrives with supplies and a contingent of knights of the Order to reinforce current defenders of the city.

Characters: Djarun, Arien, Rhocielle,Neema, Lucia NPC knights.

LOCATION: Cenril City Gates’’’


Djarun is standing along the road's side, just within the boundaries of Cenril's great gates as he converses animatedly with the commander of the wall patrols. It is obvious that he isn't in the greatest of moods, his encounter with a woman named Mahri earlier still has him seething, though he keeps his annoyance in check well enough to do his job. The commander appears equally frustrated as they discuss such matters as troop number, their placement on the walls, etc. "If you have any men whom are exceptionally well trained, I suggest you station them toward the harbor. The gates themselves should be easy enough to hold, and if this is not the case reinforcements can arrive -long- before the Preklek breach them. However if the Preklek manage to make a landing by sea we'll need some crack archers immediately, there might not be enough time to move a division in from elsewhere." the commander nods, glancing and pointing at the high turret stations. "For the moment I have my best stationed up there, but if you think they would serve best near the harbor then we can arrange for their transfer. I'm just concerned about siege equipment. It would be hard to get siege machines across the bridge, but if they somehow manage to do that then we'll be in for one hell of a fight." Djarun shakes his head, "I'm not too worried about that commander, as you said it would be exceedingly difficult and, in event of a worst case scenario..... we always have a contingency plan, though I would prefer it doesn't come to that." The wall commander shakes his head, "I Never thought I would live to see this day... can't say i'm too happy 'bout it either..... still, we can hold this gate, Major. Make no mistake about that." Djarun shakes hands with the wall commander, looking stern as he says "I certainly hope so, if the gates fall it may spell the end for a free Cenril. Continue with your own preparations, I must go around and make sure that the fortifications and roadblocks are almost done. I'll expect to see you at dawn." With that the two part ways, and Djarun takes a moment to prepare himself for the next of his duties.

Rhocielle appeared from the east, trailing the smaller elven figure ahead of him, Arien. In one of his paw like hands were a few tightly bound scrolls, no doubt maps and parchment littered with notes. Both wolf and elf had been hard at work in the silent confines of the northern inn, debating over the best positions within the city to protect against Preklek incursions on multiple fronts. The black furred male held a stolid visage, grey eyes slowly scanning the western wall towards the south. If the Prekleks were to attack Sage first, that wall would face the greatest conflict. Something irked the Lycan, however, and it was not lost on any of the clan that the harbor also needed adequate defenses. A free paw was raised in idle salute to Djarun as he came to a halt a few feet away, leaving it up to Arien voice the formal pleasantries between clanmates.

Arien was lost in thought as she strode with almost military precision ahead of her wolfen warder. The remaining force of two hundred Fold soldiers, along with their equipment; tower shields, crossbows, pikes and blades all, had made the march under guide through the now hostile woods and across the same bridge within view. She had seen them encamped with the hundred that Keturah had earlier marched in secret, so that now a full contingent of three hundred Fold soldiers were encamped at the public commons adjacent to the capitol building. The dawn had seen the deployment of the first of these to one of the several access streets that littered the perimeter of the town, all of which, she was determined would be sealed. The commander drew to a halt, falling in at Djarun's side, a quiet murmur extended his direction. "Major..it seems you have made some progress. The city seems for more prepared for war, than when last I broached its earth. A report, if you will? How fares the militia, are we armed? How many have we raised?"

Neema was flying overhead. Soaring, really. Coming in fast. Flying, then crashing…An overly excited face smacking against the ground, in a heap of black feathered wings and too many brightly colored robes for someone to reasonably wear. Her precious hat's brim is bent at a funky angle, but that goofy, excited smile still remains. After a pained groan, the peculiar avian is on her feet, fixing herself up, and bending that hat back into shape. If one looked, they'd see a wolfen sock puppet crammed onto one of her long-fingered hands. A kid's toy, but she was holding onto it as if it were nothing but an extension of her arm. She saw three familiar people, and made a bee-line over to them. Pun intended. A bit of mud smeared her face from the awkward face plant that was her awkward flight landing. Which she tried wiping away with her sock-puppet covered hand. It didn't do much beside spread it out. Lovely, right? Yup. Neema made an overly enthusiastic wave in greeting, practically bouncing on her heels with excitement. Not the type of attitude one would typically see on the eve of war, but this is Neema we're talking about. And she's got an idea in the back of her head that she's just itching to reveal. The beekeeper greets. "Hello there! Lady Arien, Rhocielle, Djarun!"

Djarun sneaks in an opportunity to rest his tired eyes as he stands, delaying in the next task he new he must do from sheer exhaustion. He hadn't slept in three days now and it showed, dark circles readily visible beneath his eyes. A familiar voice brings those same brown eyes snapping open once more as turns to face Arien and her consort, bringing himself into a stiff stand at attention. "Yes ma'am, it is certainly more prepared than my arrival, though I'm not certain it will really be enough t-" yet he trails off there, his gaze tracking the rapid plummet of a.... wait, was that Neema? Sure enough it was, and a moment later the Avianess crashes hard against the ground. Djarun might have winced were there not more important thoughts on his mind at the moment, and he continues speaking to Arien as the Avian runs up, though he does nod to her in greeting. "As I was saying, I'm not certain it will be enough to win us this war. Reports of the militia's numbers are... discouraging, a mere 57 as of this afternoon, though I have been told that more have registered since then, and I personally expect a great many last minute registrants, however I can't give you an accurate accounting of their numbers until I visit the square again. The good news though is that we -can- arm each of the men, and most likely a good many more. I've personally received assurances from several of the merchants in town that they would send weapons, armor and food for the resistance effort, a couple of those shipments have already arrived. On another note I spoke with a captain in the harbor who has pledged his own vessel and crew to protecting Cenril, and if we can find men to operate the vessel a local shipwright has promised us one of his galleys."

Arien turned to the sound of the crashing arrival of the avian, a smile teasing at her pale lips as she dipped her head in greeting. "Neema.." she murmured gently before turning her attention to the major again. "Those numbers are disappointing, that much we agree on. We must do whatever it takes to impose upon these citizens, the urgency of standing up in their own defense. It pleases me to hear, however, that we can at least arm them." Fiery head canted around her kinsman, emerald gaze sweeping further north along the streets. "Did I hear you speak of barricades, and road blocks?" She glanced over her shoulder towards the black wolf who towered there. "Have you the list, Rho..of the locations we are desirous of securing? Let us make sure that the major has attended to..or is attending to all of the locations that we have identified." Her step back allowed for the wolf to make his function more evident. He was, after all the clan's tactician and strategist. Very little of what she decreed took place without his stamp of approval. "Perhaps, a tour is in order?" The general directed this last to Dajarun, content for a little while, merely to observe the two males at work.

Lucia arrived on the scene riding atop a rather battle-scarred carriage, followed closely behind by several more which looked significantly worse for the wear. Each carriage was pulled by a team of four large, red-scaled drakes. It was hardly the saurian creatures' finest moment... but they were well compensated for their services prior to agreeing to the job at hand. Alongside each of the scaled, fearsome creatures marched a column of Sage-Forest Rangers, provided for the security of the caravan by Lady Liana personally. And so, looking like some sort of twisted parade, the Knight Commander... the elven rangers... the snarling drakes... and Sur Leilanie Lirrileth rounding the whole thing up on a horse marched right on across the Cenril-to-Kelay Bridge. Upon spotting the crowd gathered near the gate, Lucia slowed the pace of the caravan's approach, hopped down from her perch, and walked the rest of the way towards them all on foot. "We coime bearing gifts... the gifts of life! Food, and water... weapons... armors... you name it! The only thing you've got to do... is point Ranger Fiolae here in the direction of a warehouse!"

Rhocielle nodded to Arien in response to her request, removing one of the rolled sheets to produce an overview map of Cenril's streets and its basic geography. "Cenril's walls and its standing army, plus their reservists can tend to the walls, in addition to any reinforcements we have to spare... Because of the eastern harbor, there are two locations to the east that have no defenses and could be used by the Prekleks to pour into Cenril..." Pointing a clawed digit to first one location and then another, he explained, "...our allied forces can seal off the eastern edge of Beloy street [eastern Beloy Street tile] and the opening near the Market [Scent of the Sea]. This leaves the harbor undefended for the time being, until any further help arrives... but this can dealt with when forces from Rynvale arrive. Cenril's fleet of ferries can also house archers and crossbowmen to harass any coastal forces the Prekleks bring to bear. I think our priority should be securing the city itself and making sure it does not fall, much less allow a single Preklek to step inside. If our blockades should fall, forces should retreat towards buildings of importance: the capital building, the weapon shop, belfry tower, and mayor's mansion, to name a few.... If the lines are broken, we will treat the city as a jungle and hunt at individual disgression until we are able to regroup... Every soldier will be a hunter, and every Preklek found within Cenril will be our prey... I assume you already have some thoughts to already have archers and skirmishers atop the highest rooftops at various places in Cenril...?" Canting his head at the sudden arrival of an allied convoy, the wolfen warder nodded and gave a polite grunting acknowledgement as Arien approached to give her own welcome to the Lady Knight. As for the apparent head driver of the wagons, the warder pointed towards the south, "The shops along Merchant Street have all opened their storage rooms for your goods.., Ranger Fiolae, was it?"

Neema wanted to blurt out what she wanted to say and just interrupt everything, but knew that wasn't a smart idea at all. She bit her tongue, kept up with that typical fidget of one of her sock-constricted feet, pretty much just listening to everyone else since they were most likely far more aware of what was happening or going to happen, and all of that good stuff. Her stomach just about churned into a knot at the sound of Lucia's voice, and she jumped out of fright like she usually did whenever in the woman's presence. If it weren't for her fear of being pegged down as a coward, even though she admittedly was, Neema would've jumped behind either Djarun or Rhocielle in a split second after seeing the female knight. Instead she remained in her spot, but now one might see her fidgeting get a bit worse, and now Neema was chomping down on one of her jagged fingernails. Part of her kept up that goofy smile, though. She had an idea on the brain, and wanted to spill it. So, spill it she did. The avian beekeeper turned to Arien, and blurted out, "I have an idea. Kinda..If you want to hear it?" She didn't even wait for an answer, and continued. "For Sage. I know I'm going to be in the compound, but..If any prekleks happen to get in, I think I know what could stop them!" Neema's grin stretched out to its normal size, almost ear-to-ear. "I can take the queens out, you know? Move them somewhere else with a few more bees and have them make new hives, but the ones that I'm thinking about using would still have bees in them. Angry, queenless ones. They don't like that, you know? ..I could throw them." She paused to pantomime throwing, as if the concept was too difficult to grasp when it wasn't, "You know? At the prekleks..Splat!" Balled fist meets sock-puppet covered hand. "Thousands of angry bees stinging them at once. It won't kill them, I think..Unless one gets enough stings at once, anyway. But they'll be in a whole world of pain of they've never been stung a lot at once." She beamed. In Neema's mind, her idea was the greatest idea in history. With her luck, it probably wasn't.

Djarun begins conversing more heavily with Rhocielle as Arien goes to greet the approaching line of carriages "The harbor won't be completely defenseless, Lady Larket tells me she intends to send a fleet of ships to aid in Cenril's defense, and with our own naval power as well we shouldn't have any trouble holding the harbor. I do agree however that we need to seal down the eastern entrances to Cenril proper as much as we can. I have volunteers setting up roadblocks and checkpoints throughout the city as we speak, they should be nearing completion in fact and i-" Djarun is forced to trail off for the second time already as a rather out of breath soldier comes running into view calling his name "Major Djarun! You're needed immediately near the registration desk, a small group of militiamen have gotten in a fight with our soldiers and taken a hostage, they're refusing to let him go 'till they speak with you." Djarun curses violently and backs away from Rhocielle to speak with the rather panicked soldier "You've got to be kidding me, what started it?" "I don't know sir, I was on patrol at the time. a couple of the men on both sides have gotten banged up but no casualties so far." Djarun scowls, this was just what he needed right now, another problem to deal with. "Arien, Rhocielle, i'm sorry but I have to see to this." He states briefly before turning back to the soldier. "Can you please take them around to the various stations and roadblocks? they want to check on our battle readiness." "aye sir, can do." Yet Djarun was already in a half sprint off into Cenril.

Lucia :: Sur Leilanie dismounted from the horse she had arrived on, approached the Knight General, and offered a brief salute before darting in to kiss the woman on the cheek and chortle softly. "Glad to see you alive and well, ma'am." And so the caravan train disappeared through the city gates, as well as the drakes, and as well as the rangers... until only Lucia and Sur Leilanie remained of the group. The heavily-armored Knight General gave Arien and those assembled each a brief nod... even Neema... before approaching the group as a whole. "So, Ladies and Lords... I apologize for the abrupt arrival, but we very nearly did not make it here. Along the way, we were assailed by marauders whom the Prekleks had displaced from their normal hideout in the forest. None of my original escorts arrived... but fortunately, most of the goods we were carrying were salvagable. We have enough food and water to defend this city under a seige-state for more than six months. I've rounded up a full eleven-hundred knights from my training center in Rynvale... and I am proud to announce that the Sovereign Kingdom of Lymerria has authorized me to mobilize another thousand fully-trained and battle-hardened soldiers. It may not sound like much... but I assure you, to the Sovereign Kingdom... Cenril is a second home. The Knights of the Violet Rose will defend this city to the last man, if we must."

Rhocielle grunted softly and nodded, "I am pleased to hear that you have made it safely here, Lady Knight..." Turning his head slightly to the departing caravan, he remarked idly, "...eleven hundred... and another thousand. Where are they currently and when would they arrive in the city?" With such numbers they could easily defend the whole of the city and leave further even go so far as attempt a full capture of a portal to morally devastated the would-be conquerors. For the moment, this meant that there would be a new group to find a place for when the Preklek assault would begin, as well as for Neema's own newly hatched plan. "Neema..., if you can arrange what you have said, by all means begin at once. The sooner we have everyone ready the better..." Grey eyes glanced on occasion to Arien, who seemed more quiet as of late. Since the High Elf had known war most of her life, perhaps it was a welcome respite that another was taking charge and dealing with the issues that were often her daily burden.

Neema blinked while listening to Lucia, trying her hardest not to appear interested or curious, even if she was. That was a whole lot of big numbers, way too many for her to even bother trying to count. At Rhocielle's reply about beginning to start getting her bees set up, Neema practically jumped for joy. It was more of a hop, with a lopsided touch back to the ground. "Way ahead of you, Rhocielle." A momentary pause was made, while she counted on her exposed fingers with the tiny hand of her wolf sock puppet on her other hand tapping each digit, "I have...five or six ready now. I was getting ready to shift the queens around anyway to crossbreed. This gives me an excuse to see how tough my latest batch has been. Tougher stinging bees means the honey and the queen are protected better, you know?" Neema's grin remained plastered upon her face. "I can probably get some more if I reach them quickly tonight and move them over to the compound. Maybe three, at least. Thousands of bees. Now I'm excited!"

Lucia procured a rolled-up papyrus scroll from inside her rucksack, unfurled it, and read the notice aloud for Rhocielle and the others. "Knight Steward Goodsend of the Violet Rose: 'Your call for additional forces to secure the city of Cenril has been accepted unanimously. Due to the relatively short timeframe given, immediate usage of the Royal Fleet for transportation has been arranged. First Admiral Von Casteele predicts the first ships to arrive within the next twelve hours. The remainder can be expected within eight to eleven hours of that." Lucia rolled the scroll back up, tucked it away, and waved off any other questions regarding it. "There is more... but none of it is particularly important to the current situation. As it stands, this scroll arrived early last evening. I believe that our reinforcements should be arriving in the harbor any time in the next hour or so. In addition to that, the Knights I have been shipping over from Rynvale are already setting themselves up at the Old Guardtower in the southern quarter of the city. We're running out of space at the capitol... so I hope you don't mind?"

Rhocielle smirked at the overly excited Avian, shaking his head to focus more fully on the pending situation with the forces Lucia was providing. Using the same map he had shown to Djarun in order to better set up the remainder of defenses, he pointed to the north eastern corner. "Heh, I do not mind, but neither do I want your knights to crammed to be able to even move out of the tower once you have filled it up a stone bee hive. Past this guard post in the north seems to be the remains of ancient castle, though I do not know the exact extent of its damage and age. Still it should be of some aid... As it borders the eastern coastline, I think it would help your knights be even more conveniently placed to deal with any Preklek arrivals. I will take you there later if you would like to see it firsthand." Nodding to the armored woman, his gaze shifted back to the giddy winged female, "Would you need any further supplies to help you with your experimental weapon, Neema? If you do... speak to the quartermaster at the compound, I am sure he would be able to find whatever it is you need, either immediately, or eventually..."

Neema was overly giddy. It was almost as if a child had taken over her mind for a while, even if that was impossible. She was just acting like one. All talk was flying from one pointed ear, sticking in her head for a bit, then zooming straight out of the other. Her idea seemed almost foolproof. Almost. She shakes her hat-covered heat at Rhocielle, keeping up that big smile, which was beginning to hurt her face. She toned it down a bit. "Nope. I have everything I need. I'll just have to start carrying the hives over to the compound. Shouldn't take long, if I watch out for traps and all that in the forest. They're scattered about but not very far away." Her giant smile finally melted into a half frown. She was already beginning to have second thoughts. "I'm worried about whether or not it'll work for enough time, though..They'll sting, especially with the queens gone since they'll be all on edge, but I don't know how long it'll last."

Lucia paused for a moment. Giving Neema a sidelong glance, she considered the problem that the woman was having momentarily and shook her head. "Neema, the Queen secretes all sorts of scents, right? Pheremones. It's how bees know what to do! Well, what if once you have extracted the queens from their colonies... you harvest the pheremones from them? They produce more... so you don't hurt them... but you could put it in vials, and set traps. If the Prekleks trip the trap, it smashes the vial and tells the rest to form an attack swarm. It would be just like if they were obeying the queens, themselves. They would attack until the threat was eliminated. Meanwhile... those who are defending the compound are wearing the scents that identify them as other bees. That way, compound staff won't get attacked while trying to defend the halls. Would it work? If anyone could pull an idea like that off... it would be you. Can you?"

Rhocielle stepped aside from both women, shifting to stand with Arien. In murmurring hushes, both elf and wolf would secret their own conversation. Canine ears atop his furry scalp would easily twitch as they eavesdropped upon whatever discussion Lucian and Neema would have.

Neema 's jaw just about hit the ground. Lucia was a genius. A complete genius. Neema knew -exactly- what the knight was talking about, but it had never once crossed her mind to use what a queen bee could use on herself, or anyone else..Or to her own advantage. For the first time in a very long time, she looked to Lucia, dead in the eye, and smiled. No fear hinted on her face. A real, genuine, Neema-styled smile. A big one. Much to her own surprise, and possibly Lucia's, the avian beekeeper threw her arms around the knight in the tightest hug she could muster. "I can do that! You're a complete genius, Lucia! That has to be the greatest idea ever! It'll totally work! I have the stuff -with- that pheromone too, to distinguish the queen bees with the drones and the males. I keep it for when I need a new queen.." Her voice trailed off, and she hugged the knight again, just as tight, if not tighter, than before. "You're a total genius!" She repeats before letting go. Her head was swimming with ideas now, for after all of this preklek business was finished. Lucia just gave her the key she needed to figure out how to command her favorite little creatures. Now all she had to do was perfect it.

Lucia stood somewhat wobbly and awkwardish, a bemused grin splitting pale red lips. Laughing quietly, the knight returned one or the other of those hugs... she wasn't quite sure... before steadying herself and offering the avian woman a polite bow of her head. "I told you, Neema... when you talked about your bees... I was -genuinely- interested. I remembered you explaining all of that to me. I am not the genius, darling... you are. You just didn't realize it!"

Neema 's big smile turned into a frown after making a little chuckle. It hit her, how awful she'd been treating Lucia lately, and now she felt like the most terrible person in the world. Here come the waterworks. She tears up a little, head lowered just a bit, momentarily breaking eye contact with the knight. "I..Lucia, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. I was immature, and stupid, and dumb.." She went on to list more and more negative things about herself. For the third time, she pulled Lucia into a hug while sniffling, unless she happened to pull away. "Please forgive me? I didn't mean what I said, really..I was foolish. I shouldn't have avoided you just because you're..different-ish. You're still the same! Just..well, you know. You're still my friend!" She felt a bit awkward, and fidgeted a little before letting go once again. "I'm really, really, really sorry."

Lucia smirked, leaned in, and planted a huge kiss upon the avian's forehead... as well as part of her hat. Laughing, the knight rolled her eyes (or at least the one visible eye) and hoisted Neema back to hug her properly. "Look, dove... you're my friend. As angry as I have ever been with you... you've not done anything close to approaching unforgivable." And then, quirking that smile into an outright grin, the Knight General stood up properly and shifted her attention back to the larger group. "Right! So... now that we've got the mushy-gushy parts out of the way, we have ourselves a war to win! It would be my suggestion that we move quickly to complete our preparations. The lizardmen won't wait around for us forever."

Neema felt all giddy again. She was like a little kid, practically laughing like one when she's hugged once more and given a smooch on her forehead. Happy tears were wiped away from the corners of her eyes with one of the several sleeves covering her arm. She felt better now for the most part. There was definitely a twinge of guilt for being so stupid still present, but hopefully that would go away in time. Just like Lucia, her attention went back to the group as well. In came rolling more enthusiasm. The avian was pumped. If she could, Neema would totally try taking out a hundred of those prekleks with her bees right that second. "What else is there to do? I helped set up a clinic in town. Sage is ready to go, as far as I know.." and Neema didn't know much, so she was going only on assumptions.