The Long Game

[Alyson Halle]

The camp had been set up outside the fort, it was ready to begin the siege of Castle Volkheim. This was war, simple and easy, a territorial grab in the simplest, purest terms. One kingdom wanted the castle, the other wanted to stop them, so the attacker set up massive encampments and siege weapons, while the defenders manned their fortifications in order to defend agianst the massive mounted enemy force, it would be necessary to use tactics and strategy if the attackers wished to claim victory.

The camp surrounded the castle, which lay on top of a hill, surrounded by thick walls and extreme fortifications. The City nearby had fell the previous month, now it was time to take the castle, the base of power for their enemy. Among the attackers was Alyson and @Alkin Stunmark Both were payed large sums to participate in the battle, both were known for their prowess in combat and ability to lead troops. They are each to act as specialists, moving around the battlefield using their skills where needed. In return they would receive a large lump sum and prime looting rights, anything that they could carry was theirs for the taking.

The siege was ready to begin as night fell. The cover of knight would cover their advance hopefully allowing them to get the leg up on their opponents. Alyson would have to work closely with the off world merc Alkin, she did not know much of him, but she knew vaguely of the exploits of his father, yet another off world merc. This battle was run of the mill, neither of them would have much of a problem or an issue besides the uphill run to the castle, otherwise everything seemed to be in order.

The horn sounded and the armies moved in to take the castle, flaming rocks flew from the trebuchets and catapults, crashing into the castle walls, leaving holes in the defenders fortifications, the people on these walls met their untimely demise, meanwhile the attacking armies either got on ladders and charged up onto the walls, or flooded through the holes in the fortifications. Castle Volkheim was an ancient castle, and was no match to modern siege weapons, the walls crumbled like dust beneath the crushing boulders.

Alyson made herself up through the crowd assuming that Alkin would follow, the men flowed in like water let loose from a dam, it was an incredible site. Once she made her way through the wall, she saw a competently different scene. The men were fighting for their lives in a rather bloody melee in the courtyard. Up on the wall there was another brutal combat occuring, both paths led to the castle, the mercs true objective. They were to find the crown and bring it back to camp, it would humiliate the other leader and the command was hoping it would make them surrender.

"How about i take the ground route and you go up top, make it a race, see who can get to the castle first" she shouted to her compatriot over the sound of battle.

 

[Alkin Stunmurk]

"How about I take the ground route and you go up top, make it a race, see who can get to the castle first."

"You want me to go up there? There's almost no one to fight, no glory to be won. How 'bout we make this body count?"

Behind the walls tower bells started ringing, loudly; telling people to hide, rousing soldiers from their beds, calling for any help that might be able to hear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=comadrjV9EE

"YOU HEAR THAT BOYS!? THEY'RE CALLING FOR HELP! LETS MAKE SURE THERE'S NO ONE LEFT TO HELP!"

It wasn't much of a speech but he wasn't getting paid to talk anyway, and with that he, the hedge knight, and the army began to charge the breaches. At the same time the castle's garrison began to flood out hoping to hold them outside of the massive building, an act of desperation, they weren't going to do much but get the lot of them killed, not that Alkin cared he was getting payed a per body bonus. Formations clashed an broke as men payed attention to their opponent, Alkin squared off with what appeared to be a knight and lifted his vibro-axe high, head far behind his own.

The kight took a swing at Alkin, dodging it quick he shifted his grip on the axe with a quick flick of his wrists and slammed the small metal spike embedded on the haft into the eye slit in the man's helmet, continuing in a fluid motion he slid his hands close to the axe head and spun the weapon around dealing a quick chop to the knight's neck. The haft kept moving to sweep at the feet to trip the figure, unstopping the head spun around towards the ground and Alkin drove the nine inch spike into the heart.

Not having any time to waste he used the axe to hook the shoulder of another soldier pulling him in and impaling him on the vibroblade Alkin pulled from his belt, he looked to [member="Alyson Halle"] to see where she would lead him to incorder to end this.

 

[Alyson Halle]

@Alkin Stunmark seemed to be a man of honor and combat. He seemed to favor brute force and strength over calculation and finesse, she could appreciate that in a fighter, sometimes you could just cut the knot to solve your problems, other times a problem required a fine scalpel, a cutting implement designed to maximize damage, like cutting a major artery, that is where Alyson came in. She had been trained extensively in tactics, and used them to great effect in previous battles. While she had considerable academic skills, she shined in combat, her intuition on the battlefield showed whenever she entered it.

Their objective was the castle, they needed to sneak in and get what they needed, the crown. even if they didnt win the battle they could use it as leverage to get their goal in the end.

"See the castle? we need to get in there! Start making bodies until we reach it!" She shouted over to her compatriot as he got embroiled into a minor duel.

She quickly moved to make a body count. Her skills were much greater than the untrained peasants, she chopped through them with ease. She swung through the soldiers one by one. One she left a huge gash in his side, another was hit overhead right through the scalp. The bodies fell one by one, soon she would reach the castle, not yet, it would take time before she would reach. Until then she would have a little fun.

 

[Alkin Stunmurk]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc_9RT4q8YA​

Well, it looked like his employer wanted to get moving and Alkin was willing to oblige her, he levelled his vibro axe at a group of about fifteen soldiers and charged, impaling the one and than catching the other in a wide powerful strike, blood and limbs were sent flying. That little move of his broke the uniformity of the enemy's front line and created a small gap for some of the braver men in position behind him to surge forward and take advantage of the hole, it wasn't much but maybe he could turn it into something bigger.

Alkin shouted "THEY ARE STARTING TO BREAK! PUSH FORWARD! CHARGE!"

A few handfuls more of men started to push into the gap, enough to cause the piece of the formation they were balls deep in to actually start falling apart, forcing their commanders to choose between risking the front line falling entirely or thin the line somewhere else to stop them potentially opening more holes elsewhere.

[member="Alyson Halle"]