Record of the Druzhina - I

[_RoyalCrafter_ 5285]

 

Milžinų kapai English subtitles

 

 

RECORD OF THE DRUZHINA I

 

 

 

 

IT GOES AS SUCH,

On the day of the first siege of the War of the Badlands, fifty members of the Druzhina stood forth at the gates of Berzynstadt. Thirty rode out, led by Kajus Whitewood, Oswald Kingsley and Solomon Altenborough. The rest remained behind as garrison.   The road to Urguan was expectedly rocky. The Druzhina kept to themselves as they rode upon their Berzateris bred steed, carrying their own equipment on their backs. Soon they arrived at the siege camp, a veritable wooden fort with rows upon rows of cannons and trebuchets. Kajus had seen nothing like it, though he had never seen war either. Though before the Silasians could be impressed by the camp, their eyes immediately spotted the looming dwarven fort.

It felt like an ant standing in front of a brick, with cannons pointed at you. Though the people around him felt confident, and so did they. Or rather, they had to. The roar of battle began without warning, squads loaded the cannons and trebuchet in sync though before they could even fire them the dark dwarven fort lit up with flashes of violent light, following with a thunderous crash as splinters of wood flew everywhere. The dwarven volley had hit first, damaging their frontal cannons.

 

Kajus took cover in a corner of the siege, the sound of screaming and fire shook him to the core. Through the stinging smoke he opened his eyes, he saw around him his men and women coughing too. “Silasians, come to me!” he yelled through the cacophony, and the Druzhina assembled.  As the sides were exchanging cannon fire, people on the ground could slip by and the Druzhina sallied out into the woods. The men quickly livened, being able to breathe and see, and feel defended by the coppice. They knocked their arrows and aimed towards the impossibly high dwarven fortifications and let loose.

 

Though their efforts would not amount to much at this stage, even a momentary distraction of the enemy would gain precious time for their own siege teams to reload and fire. And yet they couldn’t see if their arrows hit or not, they felt it in the wind.

 

As the hours of the siege grew long, their quivers grew empty. Their once mighty camp was a pile of shattered planks, though the trebuchets kept firing from behind them. The imperial footmen climbed past the dwarven palisade where they could hide from the enemy cannon fire. By now the Druzhina had splintered across the field, each taking an angle to fire at their keep.

 

From the fog of war, Kajus spotted the Imperial Princess Valentia hiding behind a post in the trenches. As enemy arrow fire rained down upon the Imperials he raised his shield and rushed over to provide cover. There he held his shield for what felt like an eternity until those life-saving words echoed across the battlefield.

 

“THE WALLS HAVE BEEN BREACHED!”

 

The rain of arrows stopped as the dwarves and orcs instead aimed their fire at the wave of soldiers who charged through the miniscule gap created by the trebuchets. But the coalition soldiers would not be stopped. As they convened on the ladders, the Druzhina reconvened, with less people than before but it was not the time to think for such.

 

But before the two forces could even clash, the enemy had retreated back inward  leaving their siege equipment unscathed. With an empty quiver there was little Kajus could do, but as he saw the machinery of war strewn around he felt something  burn within him. He raised his axe and began to chop at the trebuchets and hammer the cannons, such that they could not be recovered by the enemy. Through his fury he destroyed three trebuchets and the other idle imperials quickly joined him to strike another blow against their foes.

 

“THE INNER WALLS HAVE BEEN BREACHED AGAIN, THERE IS A WAY UP!”

 

Once more the allied soldiers surged forth, the enemy cramping themselves in an ever smaller room unable to fight back against the weight of the imperial advance. In the haze of battle the Druzhina swung their axes till there was naught but  the voices of man in the fortress.

 

And for as long as they waited under dwarven shelling and arrow fire, it all seemed to be over in an instant. He breathed heavily as people burst into cheer, lost in the noise, but his cohort found him, Oswald patted his shoulder and for now that would have to be enough reassurance for Kajus.

 

They stared out from the high walls of the dwarven fort, now a smouldering monument of victory, and gazed out to the horizon.

“We are naen done” Kajus said with equal amounts of reluctance and determination.

 

Edited February 15 by _RoyalCrafter_
tweaking with the formatting non-stop. are tables broken or smthn

[Nectorist 12875]

Caius II, while ascending the walls, witnessed the shot and steel of House Whitewood break a company of dwarves. 

 

They really do deserve that forge..

[Vlaming 117]

As Oswald Kingsley returned from the battlefield victorious, he raised his Ale high into the air and shouted "For the Empire! For Silasia!"