~ Autumnus ~ Construction Site

[Gauls]

Cycle 3, in the Month of Imperos, in the Season of Autumn,
Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

The rains once again are falling in Sheria. The Autumn rains have picked up in intensity and frequency ever since the climate shift that was experienced over an era ago. The rain was now turning an open swath of land that still bore the signs of previous habitation into a muddy quagmire. The site used to be the small village of Autumnus. The hapless village found itself within the striking range of the forces of Orckon when the Narim War was raging and was sacked. The orcs took all that they could use including the 1000 or so souls that once made up the village's populace to use as a slave force.

As the war raged, the orc's attention was refocused elsewhere and they left the village to its own ruin. Slowly, the refugees that had fled the village just ahead of the raid returned and thought that they were free to rebuild and carry on their lives. Little did they know what was in store for the little hamlet. Before any real rebuilding could take place, the people were once again forced to flee north. The orcs were returning after repeling the Imperial forces from Sheria and this time they had intent to stay.

All buildings that still had usable materials were stripped down and even stone foundations and cobblestones that made up some of the walkways or porches to the larger buildings were pulled up and turned into war supplies. The orcs brought with them, all the former residents of Autumnus who were taken during the initial raid and were now being used as slave labor. The former residents were then forced to construct fortifications in and around Autumnus using pieces of their very own houses and village establishments!

Before any rebuilding could take place, security had to be established. The orc commander of the garrison for Autumnus went to work building defensive works along a 10 mile front they coined the Autumnus Front. The slaves toiled day and night building earthen and stone base ramparts topped with palisades. These ramparts circled the village site and extended 5 miles both east and west connecting to other fortifications that were built by other orc forces manning the northern defensive line of the orc ancestrial lands. At the extreme ends of the wall both east and west were anchored by what were known as "orc mounds". These were underground multi compartment prepared positions capable of housing up to six orcs or a dozen goblins. All that was visible from the surface were the large mounds that topped the positions and the 2~3 foot wide horizontal opening that ringed the base of the mound. This was where the defenders could fire arrows or defend their mound with little exposure to themselves. Only a single opening in the rear of the mound allowed entrance or exit. The mounds are usually capped with an abbatis or a counter siege engine to prevent attackers from simply running over top of the mound.

Wooden gates and guard towers dotted the palisade at regular intervals with the largest gate being a double gate (located square center on the north side of the village site which signaled the center of the 10 mile Autumnus front). It first passed through the palisade defenses then a second gate through the palisade that ringed the village site. The local orc garrison of the village were in charge of the 10 mile Autumnus front as well as the defense of the village itself.

Now that security was established, the Autumnus garrison commander sent word that they were ready to begin construction of the new Autumnus, the little hamlet that was soon to become the strongpoint of a defensive line that stretched from the Khardran Mountains all the way westward to the coast.

[Gauls]

Brightening 1, Cycle 3, in the Month of Imperos, in the Season of Autumn,
Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

The guards on the watchtowers alerted the garrison that wagons were approaching from the southwest. All warriors took their positions. It was strange to see wagons approaching from that direction and it was almost logical that they were orkish wagons since no other could come across the northern front. Their fears were relieved when the caravan got closer and they could see orcs and goblins accompanying the wagons.

"Open up!" the lead orc in the column yelled to the sentry.

The large wood door creaked open to allow the caravan to enter from the west side of the village site. The train seemed to wind beyond vision down the road as the guards mused at all the wagons and construction supplies that were being hauled in. The lead orc jumped of the first wagon then sought out the commander of the Autumnus Front. Upon finding him, he explained what was about to happen.

"Da Gothmog Kitot send dis stuff fer da rebuilding of da village. Nothin' too fancy yet, jus' da basics ta house da snaga an' a urak garrison. Try ta build some places ta keep urak busy when nar workin'."

It was a simple plan. Basic structures were going to be built. This was no doubt a public relations project. Once basic services were provided, the village would once again be able to accept visitors. This was of course a plan that was dependent upon the Imperial forces to the north.

"Right then! Get ta work. We provide security while ju work." the commander replied.

The orc leading the project turned and waved for the wagons to be unloaded. The whole caravan sprung into action.

[Gauls]

Brightening 2, Cycle 3, in the Month of Imperos, in the Season of Autumn,
Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

The supplies sent from Ire to meet the promise of the City Master in his agreement with the Sherian government had arrived just the brightening before. It was staged in the general areas where they would be needed then the work crews bedded down upon the cold ground for the night. The garrison were on watch as usual keeping an eye not just on the woods in front of their line but also on the supplies to ensure nothing was disturbed to hinder the start of construction.

The next brightening had started. The first of two suns was getting close to rising as its light preceded it upon the horizon. The first moans and snarls of orcs rising could be heard. They were sitting up and stretching from a harsh night lying upon the ground. Soon, yells could be heard from the garrison commander ordering his forces to rise. This order did not apply to the orc workers here for the construction project but it was hard to continue sleeping when so many bodies were now stirring.

Camp fires popped up and the smell of cooking meats filled the air. The constant supply of food and water from Ire ensured that the garrison was healthy despite the living conditions. Many of the garrison actually slept upon the palisade just because it was better than those poor souls that had to rough it upon the cold ground.

The workers got to work after a hot meal. Wood was heard being cut, axes rung and chisels pinging upon stone filled the construction site. Pairs of orcs sat upon the ground thatching straw in bundles that could be laid down flat as roofs and others were lashing wood planks together with rope to make walls and fences. All sorts of construction activities were going on and soon the frames of a few buildings were taking shape. The first of course, would be the barracks. Orcs with shovels were moving dirt into a large rectangular mound. The outer sides of this mound were going to be lined with stone siding keeping the foundation from crumbling.

The only other building that had started to take shape was the command bunker. This bunker would actually be a larger version of the orc mounds that anchored the two ends of the Autumnus Front. All of the bunker's rooms would be underground except a fighting room that was going to be built on top to guard the approaches to the bunker.

The brightening wore on and the orcs barked and complained all the while making great strides toward completing the first two structures at the site.

[Gauls]

Brightening 2, Cycle 3, in the Month of Imperos, in the Season of Autumn,
Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

The work went on at the construction site when a call went out from one of the guard towers. "Patrol coming in!"

Down at the construction site near the center of the site was the framework of the orc mound that would become the command bunker. Next to it was standing the orc that was the garrison commander of the Autumnus Front. He looked up from a parchment he was studying of the command bunker in the direction of the tower that made the call. He could not see the tower from where he stood as the wall that made up the Front was outside of the palisade that surrounded the construction site. Commotion could be heard in that general area and in a short moment, an orc garrison member came running through the double gate at the north side of the palisade toward the commander. With a grunt in salute, the orc reported:

"Gothmog, urak patrol returned wit only one urak alive! Say dey come under attack from shara army patrols northwest in Maevewoods!" he said panting slightly.

The commander pushed out his chest and looked in the direction of the Maevewoods northwest of his position.

"Imperials in Sheria!" the orc added.

"Shut Up!" the commander snapped. "Runner mus' go ta Orckon. Tell Gothmog Kitot shara army hab blockaded da north approaches from Enamoria. Maybe already in Sheria. Tell Gothmog Kitot I prepare ta meet any Imperials dat attack Autumnus Front an' pass warning ta whole Northern Front ta do same."

The orc grunted in salute again then scurried out of the south palisade gate toward Orckon with the message.

[Gauls]

Brightening 4, Cycle 3, in the Month of Imperos, in the Season of Autumn,
Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

Yet another day was drawing to a close. It had been four full brightenings and the orcs had been hard at work building the defensive and support structures for the new Autumnus. The command bunker at the center of the centruction site was drawing to a completion. The watch room atop the huge orc mound was the last thing being constructed. All of the subterrainian rooms and fighting positions had been completed and the Autumnus commander himself was down in the bunker working on defense strategies.

Outside of the bunker, north about 100 yards from the bunker was the wooden warrior's barracks. This was now a three story structure frame built upon the stone and earthen foundation that was laid down. The entry way to the main door was actually cut into the foundation which made a step sided stone foyer leading up to where the massive wood doors would soon be installed. The sheer size of the barracks would make this the largest building in the whole village easily spanning from one end to the other of the construction site.

About 100 yards to the left of the warrior's barracks was a small wooden drinking establishment. It was amazing to see how fast this building was erected. It was a simple one large room with a makeshift bar than some tables and chairs scattered about. It would no doubt evolve as the village evolved.

Thatch was being thrown down inside tents all over the site to house all of the workers and garrison. It was better than sleeping on the cold ground. As the workers bedded down for the night, the sentries took their posts to watch over the site.

[Gauls]

Cycle 5, in the Month of Imperos, in the Season of Autumn,
Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

Two cycles had passed since the first stones were set for the structures that would make up the new Autumnus. During this time, the buildings that would make up the support structures for the garrison were raised first. A barracks, mess hall, command bunker, drill square, temporary armory, blacksmith forge, and temporary stables had all taken shape though only the command bunker was fully completed with the barracks having at least a foundation, all walls, and a roof completed. The other structures were still in various states of construction.

The civilian structures that had been raised were far less having been given a far lower priority than the garrison structures. The only fully completed civilian structure was a tavern that had just the bare minimum essentials to enable it to run nightly and dispense brew to the hard working construction crew and garrison not on duty. This was fortunate for without this tavern, the hardest thing for the garrison commander would be keeping the orcs from killing each other out of boredom. A few other foundation of yet to be started buildings had been laid but most interest has been given to the garrison buildings so nothing beyond foundations could be seen of these new planned structures.

The commander had not seen any action from the Imperials since he ordered the Autumnus and Northern Fronts on high alert two cycles ago but he did not let his guard down keeping patrols running constantly to keep him informed of movements made by the enemy.

[Gauls]

Cycle 5, in the Month of Junctior, in the Season of Autumn,
Era II of the Celestine Mandate,
Era XIV Post Fractum

A month had come and gone and many of the garrison buildings were at last taking on a noticeable shape. The command bunker and garrison barracks were completed and were now housing as many orcs as could be squeezed into the structure. It was obvious that a second and maybe even a third barracks would have to be built. Under non-war times they might be able to get away with enough barracks space for 2000 orcs but they had over 10,000 in and around Autumnus at the moment that were using the one completed barracks in shifts. Some were sleeping out on the palisade wall or at other posts along the 10 mile Front. Work was started on the other two barracks side-by-side with the current completed one to house the eventual planned 2000 that would be permanently stationed here after the war.

The civilian structures had begun to be raised as well. The human slaves that were being used for the construction crew had been sleeping in tents or just out on the ground in the open all this time regardless of the weather. The civilian orcs and goblins that happened into Autumnus for what ever reason were always given tents even if it meant kicking slaves out of one to offer the tent to the visitor. No housing had been started yet and only various frames of a few civilian structures had been built at this point. It was still not clear what function they would eventually have.

All along the Autumnus Front the orcs in their daily routine made their works a little more permanent than they had initially built them. Trenches and temporary bunkers sprung up all along the line. This was mainly due to the fact that the orcs did not enjoy sitting out in the open in the middle of a sunny Autumn day. They preferred to hunker down inside their small bunkers out of the direct sun. The bunker door faced north toward the front thus the orcs inside never missed anything going on in their zone of control. These bunkers were topped with a funny shaped wooden pole with an odd looking symbol attached to it. They were instructed to place them all along the front and the shamen of the Horde told them that they were their "good luck charms". This gave the orcs some comfort as the Horde orcs were prone to superstitious beliefs such as charms and protective devices. Some of these symbols were used as sectional banners. As the orcs toiled for so long in their works, they tended to bond together into sections that would go out on patrols together, eat and sleep together, train together, and man their little section of the line together. The orcs would use the symbols on the poles to stake out their section of the line to keep other orc groups from moving into their little home away from home.

Making such a big deal out of a simple standard one would think was silly but anything that keeps the orcs busy and happy made one less thing the garrison commander had to worry about.

[Sheng Kaldres]

Timestamp: 19th Brightening of the First Cycle of the Month of Kalendryas in the season of Winter; Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era XV Post Fractum

The Imperials moved into positions. The Cavalry at the side or at the back, the regular Infantry in the center, boosted by heavy Infantry. The mages that Sheng had ordered were in the center, arranging themselves in twos. Right now the mages were in a defensive position ready to cast spells to protect themselves and if necessary escape from the battle. They were too valuable to die in battles unnecessary.

Of the structures, Sheng had already heard of them when the fron scouts of light Cavalry rode forward to gather information about the Orcs. It seemed that new leadership had taken control of the Orcs. In the past, the Orcs would never build any structures outside of Ire.

Once, the Legions had arranged themselves, Sheng decided to give those inside the structures one last chance to redeem themselves.

With help from Provost Thorgunna Endchain and the Imperials ready to protect Sheng with shields, Sheng amplified his voice so that those inside could hear what Sheng had to say.

"Those inside the camp, hear what I have to say! The Empire has come to claim Autumnus. We will accept all that come to surrender and may offer anmesty to any that has committed crimes. This will your last chance to come forth for we would rather burn this place down than to let the Orcs have it!"

The warning had been given. Sheng would carry out his threats even if this meant that the citizens of the Empire would be sacrifice in this action. No ground could be given to the Orcs.

[Adder]

Modplan

Both sides had made their initial moves, and there had been a noticeable lack of response from the orcs. Time could surely only play into their hands since the Imperials had chosen to thrust their heads into the heart of orcish territory and reinforcements could arrive at any time, pinning the Imperials against the fortifications. Someone needed to make a move, but who would it be?

[Sheng Kaldres]

The orcs stayed silent. Surprise, surprise. Usually orcs would greet any challenge and rush head on into any fights. It seemed that the orcs had indeed changed their behavior. But for how long, Sheng wondered. It was a disturbing behavior change from the last war.

But no matter how the orcs had changed, Sheng would defeat the orcs. Too much resources and men had been used and lost for Sheng to fail.

As agreed and planned before, Sheng gave the signal to Provost Endchain and Provost Klawch. Having received the signal, Provost Endchain and Provot Klawch commanded the Elementalism mages to cast their offensive spells and the Sorcery mages to cast their protective spells. The mages are arranged in pairs, with one attacking and the other defending. In this way, the mages can both attack and defeat at the same time.

All the Elementalism mages, including Provost Endchain, concentrated and began their spellcasting. Soon, all along the palisade facing the Imperials, were Columns of Flame. These Columns were casted with the intent to burn wood and even melt stone. The Columns would burn down the walls.

At the same time that the mages were casting their spells, the Imperials were prepared to face any attacks that might come the camp or even behind them as the cavalries units kept any open eye behind them with bows drawn and the infantry units looks to the front with the ranks in front with spears to the front and ranks to the back with their crossbow loaded.

[Adder]

An arcane attack was perhaps almost inevitable. And yet what sensible commander would choose anything else? Why throw away the lives of your men assaulting a defense work whose sole purpose was to kill them?

It was hardly surprising that this time the war would be different. Narim was never part of the orcs design, not to end as it did at any rate. The orcs had captured the city almost bloodlessly and then drained it dry. The destruction only happened when the orcs had extracted everything that they wished. The Legion had faced something different there, there it had been a ragtag of orcs with some high grade arcane assistance.

Here though was no mindless violence, here was the cold efficiency of the orcish military, the product of countless era's of planning. The orcish forces were no amateurs when it came to strategy or tactics, instead they had minds as good as any on the Imperial side. That arcana would be employed was inevitable and the orcish commander would have been slaughtered long before had he been so incompetent as to not take it into account.

Surely the Imperial Commander must have wondered how the orcs would respond. The orcs themselves were not reknowned for arcana, but Narim had shown them to have powerful allies. Would the orcs swarm out and attempt brute force or would there be an arcane counter attack?

The response was something unexpected.

The columns of fire flared into being, their heat awful, but then they stuttered and flickered out and the mages who had cast them dropped to their knees, momentarily exhausted leaving just a smell of burning in the air. The fortifications remained relatively untouched if somewhat scorched in places.

[Sheng Kaldres]

The arcane attack that Sheng ordered did not achieved the effect that Sheng wished for. It seemed that there was something amiss here. Something else had to be done. Of course, Sheng could order the soldiers to lay siege to the town. But that would be foolish given that Sheng still did not know about the orcs forces inside the town. Sheng had to carry out his other plan. Sheng had to get a response from the orcs.

Sheng gave another nod and gave his orders. The orders were given and movement to reflect the order rippled along the ranks of the Imperials. The order was simple; the Imperials were to retreat five miles from Autumnus. At the same time that they were retreated, the rear and side ranks had to be alert with their crossbows and spears, and be ready for a counter attack from the orcs. The cavalry units were also kept on alert with their bow drawn and their spears on hand to support the infantry units.

Were the Imperials going to abandon Autumnus to the orcs? It might be so but the Imperials were still silent and staunch in their stance and looks. Autumnus would be abandon but what was Sheng going to do?

[Sheng Kaldres]

Timestamp: Late Month of Cryxatum in the season of Spring; Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era XV Post Fractum.

At the same time that the Imperials were mobilising towards Narim, at the northern front of Sheria, there were actions taken.

A small group of soldiers numbering no more than twenty were moving towards Autumnus. Among the soldiers were two mages, one a mage in the sphere of Mysticism and one in the sphere of Thaumaturgy. This group of soldiers were the front scouts for the Imperials taking action to try to capture Autumnus once again.

When the soldiers were near to Autumnus, the Mysticism mage cast the spell “Invisibility” on the group to help them scout in front. Thus, with caution, the group approached what used to be Autumnus.

[Trinity]

As the invisible specters under the supervision of the Mystic approached Autumnus, they found it to be in a similar state as Narim - pillaged, broken, but seemingly silent. The city was no in disarray as the group approached - Autumnus was the same Autumnus they had left some time ago, when last the Imperials had failed.

The men were able to see the Orckon fortifications that have overtaken the town still intact, though there was little movement inside them. As the little Hamlet came closer into view, there was movement - people. People of Autumnus, the same refugees that the Orcs had since enslaved were tilling their fields and moving here and there, not looking like an oppressed populace but rather a begrudged, slightly unhappy but surviving populace. The only noticably odd thing about the town seemed to be that those dressed the best and not tilling the fields were stark, white haired and black skinned Vysttichi Elves. They acted like the nobles they wished they could be, having been allies of Ire. No green-skinned, leather-faced monstrosity seemed to be in sight.
Plain sight, at least.

In muffled words, various Vysttichi Elves barked orders at the human slaves in Autumnus. They carried on, but were not whipped or punished or anything that would be expected of slave work. There also didn't seem to be that many of these "Vysttichi Slave Owners", or at least that was what they appeared to be. About fifty paces in front of the small group of currently invisible men, a woman dropped a bale she was carrying in exhaustion and was barked at and berated by a Vysttichi in such a relentless manner that the woman burst into tears. The other humans in the area watched only for a moment before returning to their tasks, lest they be verbally assaulted as well. Forcefully, the dark-skinned Elf grabbed the woman's arm, thrust her into the air, then picked up the bale and saddled it roughly back onto her shoulders before pushing her off like a filthy stray cat in the direction she had been going prior to the collapse.

What were the scouting Imperials to do about this situation? The Orcs - the main cause of their failure last time - didn't seem to be present, though these disgusting elves were. Could they deal with that? What was the right course of action?