AAR [ECR 1M] Home on the Plains 6-20-2020 @ 16:00 GMT

[Icarus-Wolfswift]

*Copied From the Story book of Therbis Stone-Singer*

"Adepts have a responsible protect the less fortunate" -Therbis Stone Singer

"I was searching through the library when I noticed a massive posted to the adepts wanted board, it was from a fellow adept named Rendar. He was looking for a group to assist him on a job that he picked up for a Orc named Ka'av. After arriving at the meeting point early I didn't mind waiting for the other party members and regaling strangers with some of my favorite stories, like the tale of when I watched the grass in the plains grow two feet over one summer; I hope that wasn't to fast pace for them. By the time the rest of the adepts showed up, anyone I was talking to about history became very busy and had to go. I met Rendar who was a Orc, Fort'seti a T'Skrang, Vralino another Orc, and Thorkell a Troll.

Leaving the gates Rendar directed us to a freshly made long house in the growing shanty town around the gates. Sitting around the front was several people in armor and appeared to be discussing battle plans. The Orc who I assumed to be Ka'av motioned for Rendar to come closer and sit by him, the rest of us followed behind. After a bit of discussion it was clear that Ka'av wanted us to help with ambushing a group of raiders who are calling themselves Scorchers, these raiders have been terrorizing Juniper Hollows as of late. we had a day or two to prepare and talk with the other people involved, we were just one of the three teams that would be fighting these raiders. the other two teams would be working to disrupt there reinforcements and base of operations it would seem. I was about to easily get the members of these band to like me, I've always had a way with words, after which we headed out and made for the roads outside of juniper hollows.

getting situated along the road in the bushes, our party sat in wait for the raiders to come down this road. In preparation we placed caltrops on the road and I body painted myself for battle. Once the raiders were within range we jumped forth from the brush and assaulted the riders. Several coordinated attacks by our party and many of the riders had been knocked down and out, the remaining either tried to run and died to caltrops or we chased after and dispatched ourselves. I was very impressed by my party's ability to lay down arms against these raiders in the name of protecting the good name-givers of juniper hollows. After the battle we met back up with the other two teams who suffered more causalities and losses to the mission then us over all. I was glad that our party didn't lose a life like the rest.

Returning to Throal Ka'av Informed us that he works for a Lord Pell as a private guard and that is where alot of these men and the resources we used came from, Pell apparently had interests to protect in Juniper Hollows or at least near-by. I am interest in the Lord Pell and will possibly try to read any information related to him in the journals of other adepts."

[predajey]

The following is a recollection from Vralino Hammer-Shield, a 15 year old Ork girl with limited exposure to society. The text remains unaltered to maintain its authenticity (Certain terms and names written wrong to keep in character). It is written in Or'zet.

It's my first day going to a real battle! It's exciting. Super exciting! Rendar is taking me and some other guys to some place not too far away. Juniper Hollows? Jupiter Hollows? I'll find out later.

It was a major operation when we arrived. The guys at camp weren't too welcoming at first, but with a little bit of charm, they opened up to us. Our weapons smiths, Thorkell and For'seti could tell almost immediately that the entire thing was expensive. There had to have been at least 30 guys for this, and apparently they were expensive! Talk about high expectations! Our job was an ambush. We would be supervised by some guy named Ka'av?

We had a bit of an argument in how we should have done it, being armed with nothing more than a few calvary claptraps and some bolos. We decided to just block the entire main road and one of the side roads with the claptraps and attack from the rear, trapping them between a pair of ridges. We set up the claptraps and hid behind the nearby bushes, and after a little teasing about me having a long spear on foot, seven bandits showed up riding horses. Our weapons smiths were the first into the fight! Rendar rode in on his mount shortly after. It felt pretty intimidating fighting next to Thorkell and Rendar. Those guys hit hard! It took everything I had just to keep up with them! Even better, there was another bandit on horseback that showed up to the party late! After killing them all, Rendar looked like he needed a nap, but there's no time for that! One of the emergency crossbows were fired nearby, so we're heading out to help!

We only found three more bandits. What a disappointment. They weren't difficult to kill. Therbis could have probably done it, and he's just a trubador. Turns out Ka'av is part of some private military. He hired Rendar to deal with these bandits. They were called Scorchers, and they had been raiding the routes to Jupiter Hollows for a while. They're gone now, and I got my first paycheck! Even more, Ka'av offered us half price for some mounts! I'm getting me a horse! This was really fun! I can't wait to go out on another job!

[spencer4hire]

I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into, but it soon became apparent that our destination was Juniper Hollow, a village not far from Throal that has been under some serious setbacks as of late. Our group was five, with myself, Rendar (an orcish calvaryman), Thorkell (a troll and fellow weaponsmith), Vralino (an orcish swordmaster) and the last minute addition of Therbis (an obisdiman Toubadour of all things!). We set out to meet with or contacts, an Ork named Ka'av.

Ka'av was easily recognizable as an ork of ranking. His armor gleamed brightly, despite the overcast day and his weapons were well tended. Among his party were Gandar, Throm and Torg. They informed us of bandit activity in the area and their desire to put it to an end. The bandits were calling themselves "Scorchers", which set me an unease due to it's close (albeit only by name) association with the Scourge. We were to act in coordination with other parties in a coordinated effort to snuff out the bandits. Our assignment was to ambush a returning raiding party before they could make it back to the main camp.

We introduced ourselves to the rest of the assault party. A couple of ours made quick friends with our new found allies, but we couldn't shake the feeling that they were hiding something from us. Thorkell mentioned that he'd seen some crates of peculiar interest filled with interesting, not to mention expensive equipment. Before setting off, we were handed some bola's and a flare crossbow/pistol which we were to use if things turned south. It was of little comfort, but a nice gesture all the less.

We set a good ambush, joined by Ka'av and using calvary caltrops strategically around a roadside with good cover from bushes on either side. The battle was fierce. We were quick to knockdown and dismount as many of our foes as possible. I even had a chance to take down an enemy with a full tail attack.. what a rush! Our group worked well together, prioritizing targets and coordinating attacks and movement. It was wonderful to see our group of strangers come together like one cohesive unit, how inspirational!

Rendar took a solid hit early on in the battle. I was concerned for his safety, but he showed good situational awareness and capitalized on his mounted mobility to remain mostly unharmed for the remainder of the battle. A flare went up not long after we finished and we made our way back to the assault camp. Many of the remaining groups were worse for wear. Throm was maimed and at least a few had lost their lives.

I had other notes here, but quite literally my cat ate this part of my paper overnight, so let that be a lesson to me.

All in all, it was a solid outing among strangers who I now would be happy to call my friends.

[Dougansf]

We meet at the arena. Outside there are four people (2 Dwarfs, 1 Troll, 1 Ork) wearing mostly leather armor, Ork is wearing polished chainmail and open helm. He motions for us to approach. Fort’seti appraises the armor and is astonished by its value.

Ka'av (Ork), Gendar (Troll), Throm, and Torg (Dwarves)

Juniper Hollow is having bandit problems, calling themselves Scorchers. Their existence offends Ka’av. There are many of them 12-20, we’re going to wipe them all out in a coordinated attack. Gendar and Throm will lead 2 other teams. One group will ambush an incoming raid. The second team will be outriders to catch runners. The last group will steal horses from their camp.

We decide to help Ka'av with the Ambush, and head to 41:10, not far from Juniper Hollow.

We meet up with the other two teams. We make a decent impression over the few days we’re waiting together, especially Thorkell and Therbis. Thorkell notices some crates with bolas and caltrops (Cav and Infantry), some pistol crossbows with fancy bolts in place.

Vralino and Therbis chat up some folks for some answers. Most people are professional soldiers, some Guardsmen. They’re also asking about Ka’av and where the money is coming from. Gendar and Throm put a stop to such conversations. The crossbows gets the attention of Gendar, who puts it off for now.

Staving off boredom, I start encouraging people to perform their artisan skills to lift our spirits.

Ambush Day
The pistol crossbows are flare bolt. If there’s trouble, shoot it up into the air to bring help. (mission failure)

We’re outfitted with bolas and the plan is to have Ka’av and Rendar run heard tactics. We also get some cavalry caltrops. We lay down the caltrops to limit their ability to flee.

Fort’seti leaps through the bushes and shield bashes 7.
Thorkell runs around the bushes and hits 5.
Ka’av hits 3.
Rendar rides into the middle and knocks 4 off their mount.
Therbis goes through the bushes and Shouts at 7, then attacks him, wounding him and dismounting him to his death.

Scorcher 1 turns and attacks Rendar, wounding him, but Rendar stays mounted.
Rendar tries to dismount him in return. Then tells Quechir to trample the knocked down enemy in front of them. Then they move back up the road, where they notice another Scorcher riding down at them.
Fort’seti attacks Scorcher 4, wounding him.
Vralina attacks Scorcher 5, hitting.
Scorcher 3 misses Ka’av.
Thorkell attacks Scorcher 5, wounding him and knocking him out. Then he moves up to the front where Scorcher 2 is.
Scorcher 2 misses Thorkell.
Therbis moves around to Scorcher 3 and Shouts at him. Then attacks 3, wounding him.
Scorcher 4 stands up and tries to remount.
Ka’av attacks 3, wounding him and knocking him out. He then moves up the road next to Rendar.
Scorcher 8 arrives.

Scorcher 1 attacks Fort’seti, hitting.
Ka’av shouts at Scorcher 8, then hits.
Scorcher 2 runs across the caltrops, falls off the horse, and dies.
Scorcher 8 attacks Ka’av, missing.
Therbis attacks Scorcher 2, wounding him.
Rendar moves back into the fight to attack Scorcher 2, missing.
Thorkell attacks Scorcher 2, hitting.
Vralino moves to attack Scorcher1, hitting.
Fort’seti attacks Scorcher 1, missing.
The riderless horses flee.

Scorcher 8 attacks Ka’av, missing.
Scorcher 1 attacks Vralino, missing.
Fort’seti moves to Harry Scorcher 2, wounding him and knocking him out.
Ka’av attacks Scorcher 8, woudnign him.
Rendar moves around and misses Scorcher 1.
Vralino attacks Scorcher 1, knocking him out. Then heads up the road.
Therbis heads up the road and Shouts at Scorcher 8.
Thorkel moves up the road as well.

Ka’av attacks Scorcher 8, hitting.
Rendar charges Scorcher 8, bouncing off the armor.
Vralino maneuvers at Scorcher 8.
Thorkell moves around Scorcher 8, and knocks him out.

The horses scatter, heading in one direction. The lame one is still hobbling down the road. Ka’av tells us not to follow, as we may be needed to reinforce the other two groups.

We take an hour to recover.

Riding Reinforcements
We see one of the flares go off into the sky down the road. Ka’av orders us to start moving. As we go, we come across 3 more injured Scorchers.

Scorcher 1 and 2 close and miss.
Rendar hits Scorcher 1.
Vralino attacks Scorcher 1, hitting.
Fort’seti attacks Scorcher 2, knocking him out.
Ka’av charge Scorcher 2, wounding him.
Therbis Harries Scorcher 1, but bounces off armor.
Thorkell attacks Scorcher1, killing him.

We continue riding, finding the Outriders group who got severely mauled. They killed 2, but the three we found got away. Throm may never walk right again from his injuries.

Eventually, the third team arrives with about half the horses from the camp, and help us kill the bandits. Third team spooked the herd, so they only wrangled the slower horses. Ka’av isn’t happy with the mixed results but is happy with all of our team.

Ka’av is part of the Sky Knights, a private army of Lord Pel. Pel has lands adjacent to Juniper Hollow, so he ordered.