Peril in Palmyra

Reading the missive, I let out a sigh of frustration.

“What is it?” Centarch Ulveblod asked.

“Now they’re sending us to Palmyra.” Palmyra, only a couple thousand miles away.

Here is the letter I received.

The Voyage
Immediately, we set off, marching through the forest and occasionally fighting off marauders. We marched with minimal rest until we reached the city of Rivoltus on the coast.

Here we secured passage on a ship captained by a seafarer named Soulrithen. We also took aboard Pontifex Marcellus and the Eyes of Pandora, two powerful artifacts that we need in our quest. Marcellus used his powers to conjure up a wind that sped us on our journey.

Arriving in Palmyra, we met with another priest, Pater Tiberius. He agreed to assist us with our mission.
We then sailed down the Kemi River to the town of Panria. Here, we expected to meet our next foe.

The Anubai
The Anubai, jackal-like humanoids, had joined the Dark Alliance and plotted to invade Palmyra from the desert wastes. We learned that they planned to cross the Kemi at the town of Panria, whose bridges were the only crossing for hundreds of miles.

Our Mission

We had two missions to complete:

• Assist settlers on the far bank to make it across the river before the Anubai slaughtered them
• Most importantly, assist Pontifex Marcellus and Pater Tiberius in placing the Eyes of Pandora on the bridges and activating them. Activating both will create a powerful storm that will shield Palmyra from the Anubai.

I split the Legion into two forces, each covering one of the two bridges.

First Century

The first century (company) went to the north bridge. This company, led by Howl and including Lionheart, Izzy, and Chris, were tasked with protecting Pontifex Marcellus.

The Anubai reached the bridge first. They poured across, overrunning the settlers struggling to get across the bridge. The settlers either dove into the water or were cut down.

Then the Anubai reached the east end of the bridge. The century charged, smashing into the Anubai. A vicious melee ensued. Hacking and slashing, our legionaries cut through the hordes of the enemy. Marcellus bombarded the enemy with bolt spells. Our losses mounted but the enemy seemed to keep coming.

Suddenly, our troops broke through, pushing the Anubai back across the bridge. Pontifex Marcellus reached the center. Placing one of the Eyes of Pandora, he began chanting an praying. The Eye activated.

The rest of the century rescued a wagon train that had been abandoned in the middle of the bridge. It was laden with food for the hungry refugees.

Second Century

Meanwhile, the second century quick-marched to the south bridge. A similar scene awaited them – panicked settlers fleeing from the horde of Anubai.

Pater Tiberius blessed the legionaries, giving them some protection from harm. The century, led by Celer with Wren and Soulrithen, then joined the battle.

Again, it came down to a vicious melee, but the Anubai seemed more numerous on this bridge.

Celer reached a wagon and tried to make off with it. It got damaged, but he still managed to drag it across the bridge.

Tiberius cast Shadow Walk on himself, then confidently strode among the Anubai, whistling as he went. Confused, the Anubai lashed out but could not strike him. Then, they began to ignore him. Tiberius took this opportunity to strike a few down from behind. Then, reaching the center of the bridge, he placed the Eye and began the incantation, The Anubai did not notice him, and the Eye activated.

The End of the Anubai

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound. The river itself reared up in a gigantic wave. It crashed upon the western shore, sweeping away the Anubai reserves. Pandemonium reigned on the bridges – the Anubai fleeing in fear and the legionaries retreating with alacrity.

In a matter of minutes, it was all over. The waves tore away the bridges and surged into the town of Panria. The townsfolk and the Legion retreated east, safe from the waters and the Anubai.

Meanwhile, the river shined with magical power, keeping the remaining Anubai at bay. The Legion was victorious, saving Palmyra.

Commendation

The entire Legion fought well. I consulted with the officers, and we decided that Wren deserves the Order of the Eagle for this battle. Her glaive work cleared out space, allowing the Legion to advance.

OOC NOTES

Above is an in-character account of our November 8 lore battle. As usual, I embellish in places.

RJ played Marcellus and I played Tiberius. We welcomed Steve aka Soulrithen and Izzy to our ranks. I hope they enjoyed themselves.

I was too engrossed in the battle, so I did not catch what other people did. Feel free to post in the comments about your contributions or the contributions of others.

Essentially, this was a bridge battle with a heavy object objective. We used my hand cart as the wagon. It started in the middle of the bridge – the Legion needed to rescue it. Meanwhile, the priest had to reach the middle, place the Eye, and recite an incantation.

The Legion had 3 lives. We used a bucket as a marker. Essentially, it was a Well of Life – sort of doing the work of a Maester.

The Anubai had 2 hp and a howl ability that froze an enemy. The Anubai leader had 4 hp and spells.

As Tiberius, I kind of cheated. I went to the middle of the bridge using Shadow Walk. Then, when the Anubai passed, I quietly began the incantation. While I was doing this, the Anubai kept running past me. They did not know I was out of Shadow Walk. Currently, there is no rule saying you have to state you are out of Shadow Walk (which differs than Amtgard). We did this on purpose to allow people to make sneak attacks out of Shadow Walk. I probably should have been incanting loud so people would know that I was visible. Next time we’ll make that a rule. Sorry for being a cheating bastard. 😉

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the battle. Thanks, RJ, for creating the scenario.