"You know it's not an authentice Rubber Ducky report/comment if there aren't broken images"
-Persian-POW
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| Gunnar's Saga, Part II | | | Author: | | | IP: | resnet18XXXX | | Date: | 03/14/00 10:03 | | Game Type: | Warcraft 2 | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 2, Max: 10, Min: 9
Lifetime Rating for MRHD: 8.5455 |   | Gunnar’s Saga, Part II
The Plot Unfolds
Before going on, if you have not read the first part in this semi-fictional series, you can go view it here. Now on to the second part!
Where we last left out, Glum had discussed with Hrut the Unclean the plan to assassinate the King. Now this is what was said:
"I have hired a man named Gizur Stump-Foot." said Glum in a low voice to Hrut. "Now he is an outlaw and a pillager, who has a fair following of likewise bandits. He will come out in front of the castle gates, and with his men will make a great ruckus. This will draw the guards, and take them away from their post in front of the king's room, for the forces of Gizur are strong, and it will take most of the guards in uniform at such a late hour to defeat them…”
“This is where you Hrut will play your part. I will let you in the back gate of the castle earlier in the day, just as I did today, and you shall hide in this very storage room until you hear the commotion above. At that time you are to make with haste first to the room of my brother Gunnar, on the second floor near the end of the royal hallway, to steal his axe “Blood-Lion”, which rests above his mantle. If my brother has a weakness, it is his tendency to sleep through the greatest commotion; I dare say that even if the gates of hell were to wane open he would not be stirred from his slumber.”
“You shall take “Blood-Lion” and enter the bedroom of the King, which is right next to that of Gunnar, and the very end of the royal hallway. You shall then raise “Blood-Lion” overhead, and strike the King once, but not to kill, only so that a scream can ring forth. Although little could disturb Gunnar’s sleep, the sound of his beloved fathers agony will make him rise. Once the King has emitted a suitable cry, you are to finish him, and then exit from the window in his room, which I have made sure will open.”
“If all goes well, I will at this time come in with a pair of guards, and we shall find Gunnar standing over the crumpled form of the King, with “Blood-Lion” nearby. I will then accuse him of killing his own father out of greed to obtain the throne, for it is well known that Terenas favors him as his successor. Also, I have paid handsome favors to many of the servants in the castle to spread tales of seeing Gunnar meeting with Gizur Stump-Foot in the dark of night to discuss unknown business. The proof will be there against Gunnar. And even if Gunnar is not stirred by the Kings cries, I will say that he hired an assassin, for how else could the King be killed by “Blood-Lion” if it was indeed not by the hands of Gunnar?”
“I leave this job to you Hrut because you have stealth yet you are very strong, one of the few who could wield “Blood-Lion”. As long as Gunnar does not wake too soon, I will gain the throne, and you shall be handsomely rewarded.”
The eyes of Hrut blazed with an intense and vicious glee. “As my lord commands.” Hrut replied with a grin that could have been carried on the face of Satan. “And when does my lord plan no enact this plan?”
“Tomorrow night, for why waste time?” Glum said, displaying an even more savage grin that Hrut. “And the next morning… the head of Gunnar shall roll before my feet.”
And with that they left for the night.
The Game
Many days had passed since my quest for the perfect 1v1 game for this report had started. Just the night before I had been in a game that may have very well fit this report perfectly, but as my luck would have it my opponent lagged out. Still, the search for a good human versus human game continued. As I scrolled down the endless sea of team games available on the join list, a game name caught my eye; “1v1 32x32 no mines”. The creator of the game was named Humanmaster(1). (Just like in my last Gunnar report, my opponent had the audacity to receive white as his color, so once again he shall be put in red, only this time it really will be red and not lime green.) The name of the game implied anything but the conventional, and the name of the creator made me dare to hope that he would actually pick humans and be good at them at the same time, so I decided to join up.
Luck was with me, as my aptly named opponent had chosen humans by the time I entered, and I did the same myself. As always, we the combatants exchanged a volley of “gl hf” (I think newbies type them not even knowing what they mean.), and a game unlike any other in my bnet experience was about to take place.
The map is Instant Action. It is a new, and strange map packed in with the battle.net edition of War2. It has no mines, and little building space. The resource default setting is used, giving each player 28,000 gold, 10,000 lumber, and 8,000 oil. Anyways, here is the map:
As you can see, this is certainly not your conventional map. Since the battle.net edition of war2 makes it so that you absolutely have to build a town hall before anything else, this takes up a lot of resources and space that in older versions of war2 would have been used for other things in such a situation. (You may remember the infamous “I will just make a couple of barracks and farms and skip the town hall because I don’t need that long to kill you.” players of yesteryear, who would throw all hopes of a mid or late game away to make the hardest rush to stop. This map almost makes you feel like one of them.
Fateful Night
The next day passed with little activity inside the castle walls, for it was winter time, and the cold subverted all of the normal bustle that was usually found in the town about the castle in warmer seasons. Yet a few miles south the band of rouges led by Gizur Stump-Foot made ready for battle, sharpening swords, stringing bows, and fashioning torches in preparation for the ruse to be performed that night. The men of Gizur numbered about a hundred strong, and although no match for the army of Lordaeron, they would suffice to fill the hands of the castle guard while messengers were dispatched to round up the knights for battle. Gizur did not plan to stay around that long, however; for Glum had that morning instructed Hrut and Gizur that when Hrut fled, he was to flee to the men of Gizur who would then accept him with open arms, and at that moment it would also be their signal to pull out for their work would be done.
That entire day King Terenas had dark premonitions, and sensed that something of great evil was about to take place. Not able to push the thoughts down any longer, he sent for the two people he most trusted in life: his son Gunnar, and Sigmund the Valiant, retainer to King Terenas, who was also the son of a long lineage of noble knights whom had served the kings of Lordaeron for many generations. As the two men bowed before the King, Terenas motioned for them to stand up.
“You honor me greatly.” He said to them. “However I fear the time may soon come when I will no longer have the pleasure of your companies. For lately I have had feelings of darkness engulfing me, and visions of a bloody end. I believe that soon you shall find me dead.”
The two men before the King were in a state of shock at this message, for in those days such signs were taken to almost certainly entail the doom of the one who saw them. Worried, Sigmund spoke up. “But sire, surely these visions are not as bad as they seem. For if you are to depart, how will the lands of Lordaeron survive? I would not know what to do without my liege to serve.”
To this King Terenas responded: “Fear not, noble Sigmund, for all of us must come to their ends in due time. Fifty and four years have passed on this earth since I first saw the light of day, for I am old now. But my son here, he only carries twenty years on him, and yet already he has proven a warrior without equal, and a leader of great merit. My time shall soon come, and when it does, I want you Sigmund to pledge to me that you will serve my son Gunnar, the next king of this land, as faithfully as you have served me.”
“As you wish my Lord, so do I swear on this day that as long as the blood of life runs through me, I will serve your son Gunnar with all that I have.” Thus was the reply of Sigmund.
And now Gunnar, who had been silent throughout, spoke up. “My Lord, I will not allow such a terrible end to come to you. I swear that I shall guard you day and knight, and no one will get by you until my heart has been put to rest. Any who tries to bring harm on you will have to answer not only to me but to “Blood-Lion” as well!”
King Terenas slowly shook his head. “No, my son. That is not to be. We are but men, and the fate that the gods ordain for us cannot be halted, not even by a mighty warrior like yourself, Gunnar. Besides, if you were killed protecting me, and then I was to be in my turn killed as well, what would happen to our land of Lordaeron? Shall it then go to the hands of Glum? What a terrible state this kingdom would be in if it did! So no, I command you not to guard me, even if it means that I shall soon die.”
Gunnar bowed his head solemnly. “As you wish my liege.”
“Now Gunnar, Sigmund. I have addressed you both, and perhaps for the last time. Now go both of you, and mourn me not; for each of us has our place in destiny, and it is useless to think of things in any other terms.” And with that the two men left the King, who sat on his throne, contemplating the life that had been his through the course of its years.
The day then passed into night, and all the inhabitants of the castle went to sleep as normal except for Glum and the few guards that stood at their posts throughout the night. It was close to midnight, and from the eastern tower of the castle Glum lit a single torch which burned in the night sky, the signal to Gizur to launch his assault on the castle gate. “Now we shall do our work and earn ourselves rich rewards!” yelled out Gizur to his mean, who cheered in unison as they then began their mad charge on the castles outer walls.
The sentries immediately sounded their gongs to alert all warriors of what was happening. Disturbed from sleep, hired footmen from the town outside the castle and the elite Paladins of Lordaeron from inside the walls made ready for battle- messengers were dispatched to gather soldiers from outlying villages. Gunnar, his room being a far distance from the front of the castle where the signals were sounding, did not stir. Outside, the first of Gizurs men clashed steel with the guards at the gate; Gizur himself led the charge, and with his heavy broad sword he sliced off the heads of two guards to start off the bloodshed on that frigid winter night. As more guards came down the battle grew fierce; arrows flew from the towers, sparks flew from the clash of weapons, adding flashes of light to the darkness of the night.
During this commotion, as the shouts of battle were heightening, Glum snuck to the back of the castle, where he unfastened the latch on the servants entrance to the kitchen. As he did, Hrut stepped into the dim light that shined from Glum’s torch. Both of them could not hide the smiles from their faces, for the plan was so far going well.
“Now I shall go upstairs and tell the guards that protect the king that we are losing the battle at the castle gate, and that they must go and help defend us from the bandits, and I shall go with them. Once they are gone, you shall come up the hallway, and from there we shall take our plan as was said last night. I will stay with the guards at the front for a little while, and then I will realize that Gunnar is not here, and will go with a pair of guards to fetch him, upon which we will find him with the dead body of the King if all goes smoothly. Now let us go.”
And with that Glum ascended the stairs of the royal hallway, and told the story of the battle outside to the guards, and led them off. Then Hrut, who had been crouched in a dark corner of the hallway below, slowly made his way up the stairs and into the now deserted royal hall. He walked softly towards the end of the passage, and then halted at the second to the last door in the hall. Placing his hand on the knob gently, he slowly turned it and, opening the door ever so softly, entered the room of Gunnar.
As he surveyed the room he spotted Gunnar sleeping at the far end. Much more closely at hand was the fireplace, where a dim flame sill waned from earlier in the evening. Over that hung the great axe “Blood-Lion”, the goal of this journey into the room of Gunnar. Stepping silently over to the mantle, Hrut gently lifted “Blood-Lion” from its rack; and although the sheer weight of the weapon caught him off guard for a split second, he quickly caught his bearings and ensured that he made no sound. With “Blood-Lion” securely in his possession, and Gunnar not yet stirred, Hrut made his way back to the door, and with a display of his great strength, was able to hold “Blood-Lion” in single-handed long enough to shut the door behind him. He then made his way to the end of the hall.
With the same silence and care as he took in entering Gunnar’s room, he now entered the room of King Terenas. The noble old king was sleeping at the other end of the room in lavish blankets, and like with Gunnar’s room, a small fire still burned to shimmer off of the blade of “Blood-Lion”. Hrut moved closer to the King, slowly raising the axe. As he stood over Terenas, the light danced on the deadly steel of “Blood-Lion”, and in the sinister eyes of Hrut. Then, with resounding force, Hrut brought “Blood-Lion” down swiftly upon the shoulder blade of Terenas, quickly severing his arm, spurting large quantities of blood everywhere. The old King aroused from his sleep in a great scream of pain. Gunnar awoke in the next room.
As the King looked frantically and dazedly around, Hrut began to laugh. “You, you old swine, look at how pathetic you have become!” exclaimed Hrut. “I, whom have been more than once condemned to your dungeons, now condemn you to your death!” And with that Hrut brought “Blood-Lion” up high and down in a powerful arc, which effortlessly sliced off the King’s head, and thus old King Terenas fell dead. Then Hrut dropped “Blood-Lion”, and made his way towards the window.
As Hrut was performing his ill deeds in the next room, Gunnar jolted out of bed and raced frantically to get “Blood-Lion”. Realizing that it was missing, the confused Gunnar quickly grabbed a short sword that he always carried in case an opponent were to wrest “Blood-Lion” from his hands, and immediately made for the King’s room. When he entered, the putrid smell of blood hit his nose, as well as a sight he would never forget for all the rest of his years: on the bed lay the body of his father, and on the floor, his head, whose now dead eyes seemed to be looking with fear at what lay to the ground near them—“Blood-Lion”. And behind this scene, Hrut had just unfastened with window, and was now making his way out. Gunnar let out a scream of the purest rage.
“You, vile murderer! I will slay you now wicked creature!” And with that Gunnar lunged towards Hrut, but it was too late, for Hrut had already made his way out the window and had disappeared into the blackness of night. Gunnar was about to go out the window after him, but just then he heard footsteps from behind. He swung around, and there in the entrance stood his brother Glum, along with a pair of guards. All of them had looks of great shock on their faces; Glum’s shock was feigned, but as a man who had led his entire life in deception, the expression was well rehearsed.
“The scoundrel who just slew the King has made his way out of this window!” Gunnar yelled at them. “Quickly, we must gather up all the men to pursue him!”
At this Glum stepped forward. “Cursed brother, has your lust for power come to this! ” he cried. “We find you trying to make your escape out this window, and then you try to say that it was someone else, even though your very axe “Blood-Lion” sits right in front of you in a pool of the King’s blood! You could not wait for Terenas to die a natural death, your greed for the throne has driven you to the greatest of sins!”
Gunnar froze as he realized what was being said. “You know I would never do that!” he shouted. “I have always served father with great loyalty, surely all of you realize that?!”
The two guards looked around uncertainly. One of them then decided to speak up. “I do indeed know of your past loyalty to our King… and yet the evidence seems great against you. Also, I have heard rumors that you have been meeting on dark nights with Gizur Stump-Foot, the outlaw. And now, on this very night, Gizur attacked the castle, which pulled our guards away from their posts around the King, and when we realized you were nowhere to be seen in battle and went to fetch you, we find you with the dead body of the King.”
The other guard nodded solemnly. “I have also heard of your meetings with the accursed Gizur.” He replied.
Gunnar was furious. “I have no time for your ridiculous accusations! The murderer of the King is getting away as your mouths pour forth excrement before me now! I am going after him, and anyone who dares stop me shall meet the edge of my sword!” With that Gunnar walked briskly to the door; neither the guards nor Glum tried to stop him, for the guards knew that they had not the power to, and Glum was too cowardly to put himself on the line. However, once he left, he instructed the two guards to rally all the warriors in a manhunt for Gunnar, so he could be put on trial for the murder of the King.
As Gunnar made his way out of the castle at a fast pace, Sigmund approached him. “Lord Gunnar!” he called out. “I have come to inform you and Prince Glum that Gizur Stump-Foot has withdrawn his forces and that the fighting outside has ceased!” As Gunnar drew closer, Sigmund notices the fury in his face, and fell in line to his side as he walked; Sigmund found it hard to keep up with Gunnar’s pace.
“Gunnar, may I ask where you go in such a hurry?” inquired Sigmund.
“A scoundrel has murdered the King and fled, and I will waste no time in claiming his head.” Replied Gunnar, without a look around.
At this the face of Sigmund went a sickly pale white. “Oh that such a tragedy would befall our kingdom!” he exclaimed. “Poor Terenas, who served so nobly, and even after predicting his own demise kept the composure of a king…” his voice trailed off, and he let forth a rattling sigh.
As they reached the entrance to the castle, they met with the company of warriors who had engaged the forces of Gizur, and who still stood ready at the gates in case a second strike followed the first. Upon seeing them, Gunnar made this address: “Warriors of Lordaeron, this is a time of great sorrow, for noble King Terenas has been murdered.” This was followed by murmurs and gasps of shock throughout the crowd; not a one of them could believe that such a terrible thing could befall their wise and just King. “The fiend has made his escape swiftly into the night, and in the name of the loyalty you all once had for my fallen father, I implore you to join me in the search for this villain who has cursed our land!” This was followed by shouts calling for the man’s head, and as Gunnar made his way to the gate, the men began to follow him.
But no sooner was he a step outside than he heard Glum’s voice bellow from behind: “I heard how my traitorous brother just addressed you all and swayed your emotions. But listen to this: during the battle that just took place Gunnar was nowhere to be found, and once I took some guards to go with me to fetch him, we found him at the window of the King’s room, about to make his way out. In front of him was the collapsed form of the King, and near him was the bloodied weapon of murder—“Blood-Lion”.”
At this there was a great murmur that flowed throughout the crowd. Once again the gossip that Gunnar had been in conference with Gizur Stump-Foot circulated amongst the men, and some said “That is ridiculous, for Gunnar is a noble man of virtue.” While others said “First he has talks with the outlaw Gizur, who then sets up a ruse that was surely meant to let Gunnar make his move, and steal the throne.” Arguments flared amongst the warriors present.
Gunnar grew impatient with the whole situation. “I see some of you doubt me, so now I ask you all to take your stand! Those who believe in me, come with me now and we shall lynch the one who has slaughtered our noble King! Those who are swayed by the words of my deceptive brother, curses upon you, for you are disgraces to the honor of Lordaeron.” And with that, Gunnar walked outside.
With that the company of the warriors split in two. Now they were about five hundred in number, and about two hundred followed Gunnar outside, led by Sigmund. The other three hundred gathered around Glum, who addressed them there: “Gunnar is trying to make his escape, but we will not allow it! After him, loyal soldiers of Lordaeron; this is the first command I give you as your new King!” At that time Glum led his followers outside; the most notable among them was the great General Skarp of Stone, thirty five years of age, who was very aptly named, for both his strength made him seem as impossible to get past in battle as a stone wall, and his lack of emotion under all circumstances made the name all the more fitting.
Now as Gunnar made his way outside, a maid of the castle ran outside towards him, and grabbed his arm. He turned sharply around to face her. “What is it woman, I have a very important matter to take care of.”
“This is a very important matter as well, my lord.” She replied. “Your brother Glum had paid off us maids and servants to spread lies that you had dealings with Gizur Stump-Foot. Yet I refused, and have this to show for it.” She pointed to a large, sickly brown bruise on her cheeks. “In fact, I once spotted him conferring with a horrid man at the latest hour of the night!”
Gunnar stopped cold in his tracks. “You have done well to tell me this.” He said. “Men! Stop now, and here this! It appears that my brother Glum is the true plotter who has conceived this vile deed, and the man we chase is but a servant to his cause. This shall not go unpunished! Let us lay siege on the castle now and flush out the horrid rat!” To this there were great shouts of approval, and Gunnar led the company back to the castle gates.
Glum was still standing in the gateway with some of his men, awaiting for them to ready themselves for a manhunt of Gunnar, when he saw Gunnar return. “I do not think he is coming back to surrender.” Glum commented. “Men! Lower the gates! Ready the ballistas! Set up archers in the towers! Prepare yourselves to shed the blood of the traitorous brigade!” At his words the men around him immediately scattered to carry out his orders. The decisive battle to determine who would ascend the throne of Lordaeron was about to take place.
The Battle
I ended up in the lower right hand corner of the map as purple humans, while Humanmaster(1) got the upper left hand corner with white humans. (But of course you already knew we both picked humans.) A little confused on how to go about this, I start my town hall as the realization that there isn’t a drop of gold to be mined on this map begins to sink in. What I have is what I get. I then make a farm, then once that is finished I make a rax, then with my second peasant I make my second rax, third peasant farm, and then I realize that my resources are precious and I should lay off the peasants since there is nothing to be gathered. I assume three is enough to build stuff at a good pace, so as not to lag behind, but not so much that I sacrifice what little I have wastefully.
It isn’t long until I realize that thick wall surrounds me on all sides. Thinking that a blacksmith would be a good idea, I use the first of my footmen to start hacking up the wall to my north, clearing out the space needed. By this point I have built two more farms, and I am ready to start massing a serious force of footmen. Finding the area above me void of any malignant forces, I decide it is a good place to build another farm, and also a little later on a third rax… on reflection making a third barracks was a bad idea, as it was pretty wasteful and non-productive, but at the time it seemed like a gosu idea.
I was beginning to yearn for the blood of my opponent, so my footmen started to hack merrily away at the wall to the left of the northern area I had already broken into. Things seemed cheerful at first, until when they were almost done terrifying white blobs began to surface on the mini-map, and the fire of the great arrows of a ballista rained down upon the hapless lead footmen. Yet not one to be deterred, I took another footman, and since I was one puny block away from breaking into the area, I sacrificed the noble life of this warrior so that the clear passage of my other troops could be assured. I was hoping that Humanmaster(1) had gotten solely ballistas in the hopes of pummeling my hapless base from an untouchable distance, unfortunately for me my hopes were dashed away.
As you can see, Humanmaster(1) had footmen, and I tower in progress to boot, so my footmen that I had sent in got pummeled mercilessly by the triple terrors of tower, ballista, and footmen. My attack had been a disaster. I soon saw that he was not one to waste an opportunity to capitalize on my error in judgment, for no sooner than did the last of my footmen turn into a worthless pile of innards steaming on the ground then did his footmen come storming through the path I had conveniently made.
The forces of Gunnar began their attack on the outer wall of the castle. Having pushed down a nearby pine tree, which they now used as a battering ram, they struck the gate of the castle, sending a reverberating echo throughout the frigid night sky. At first the great gate door did nothing to give way, but soon it began to creak and break. Finally, when one last strike would have surely fell the immense doorway, the immense arrow of a ballista rained down upon the soldiers. Most of them dispersed, save one man: Gunnar. Racing forward, he threw all of his weight against the gate, which broke down as he did. No sooner had the gate fallen, then did an arrow from an inner castle tower pierced his left arm. Still, waving his sword in the air, he limped forward, and would have surely been cut down, if not for someone hastily pulling him back. It was Sigmund.
“Let me go, Sigmund, for I must have the head of Glum!” he shouted, but the grip of Sigmund remained firm. “No my Lord, that I cannot do.” He replied. “For if you are to die in battle in this place, what hope shall Lordaeron have? The spirits of your men will die, and they will surrender to the tyranny of Glum. You must survive. Let us get a field doctor to tend your wound.” With that said, Gunnar’s duty as the rightful King overcame his lust for blood, and he reluctantly followed Sigmund away from the fighting. As the pain shot up his arm to the rest of his body, the only sign that he was in pain was an almost undetectable clenching of his teeth together.
At first Sigmund worried that there was no physician among their ranks, but luck was on their side, as Sigmund found Mord the Healer, a renowned doctor of Lordaeron, among the group of men. Mord examined Gunnar’s wound carefully, and then began to bandage it. “It is deep, but I do not think it is too serious.” He commented. “No worse than the one already on your shoulder anyways.” As Mord finished the bandage, he took another look at Gunnar. “You are ill dressed for this weather. Here is my cloak; I do not need it, for my clothes are made of the best wool of Lordaeron.” Gunnar took the cloak gratefully.
Just then a footman with a worried look on his face approached them. “I bring you ill news, my Lord. The forces that stormed the inner castle walls were mowed down by the guard towers, foot soldiers, and the great ballistas. The few of us who survived have fell back, for Glum is now taking the offensive.”
“Curse my lack of courage!” yelled Gunnar. “If I had not retreated, Glum’s head would have already parted company with his shoulders!”
“Not so my Liege.” Replied Sigmund. “Your left arm has been pierced by an arrow, while your right shoulder bears an equally deep wound from your southern voyage. With which arm would you then wield your weapon with?”
Gunnar was silent for a moment before speaking. “You are a reasonable man, Sigmund. I now know why my father trusted in your confidence so greatly, for you are not swayed by ignorant passions that cloud judgment. Now then… everyone, make ready to defend against Glum’s attack.”
These footmen soon slaughtered the few survivors that I had spared from the fate of the tunnel of doom, and they made their way right into my main base, in an attempt to end this thing for good. I gathered what I had, and immediately ordered up some more from my barracks- but I had only level two footmen, while his were level three.
As the forces of Glum approached, they fell all resistance that they met in their path, for their numbers were far greater than Gunnar’s now after the great losses that he suffered earlier. Gunnar saw them approach, and drew his short sword from its sheath. “Wounded or not, I will die a warriors death!” he proclaimed, and charged forward, thrusting his sword with great force into an enemy footman’s heart, killing him instantly. “Even injured I shall fight greater than any man!” With those words he engaged no less than seven footmen, and for awhile held them at bay.
At first I thought it was over, but then the advantage of me fighting with my barracks right there while he had to bring them over and down paid off. I was able to get enough footmen out to stop this attack, and decided ballistas would be great to take out his annoying towers in the corners. Things were quiet as I finished by lumber mill in the upper right hand corner and got my first ballista out. I then gathered by dozen or so footmen in that northeast sector of the map, and began to rain down vengeful fire upon the tower that had helped to slaughter my footmen earlier. I watched the tower burst into flames with savage glee, but no sooner than it did a barrage of ballista fire pelleted me from below. Not only did this send my ballista up in flames, but they also got in a shot or two to my footmen before I realized what exactly was happening. He had made a path through the wall in the middle of the map, and had made it so that his ballistas were surrounded by wall at least two blocks thick on all sides, giving him a lot of leniency as far as shooting into my area was concerned, but giving my units no way to retaliate.
During the melee, Gunnar swiped his sword across the stomach of one of the footmen in front of him, spilling his intestines to the ground. Two of them flanked him on either side, and swiped at him at the same time; Gunnar dodged quickly, and bum rushed the one to his right, toppling on the ground on top of him, and then slitting his throat. At that moment the one of the other footmen was about to stab straight through Gunnar, but before he could, he fell dead. Gunnar looked up in time to see Sigmund withdraw his own sword from the back of the man. “My lord is reckless.” he stated in a matter-of-fact voice. Gunnar then got up quickly, and they fought the remaining four footmen back to back.
As the battle dragged on, both Sigmund and Gunnar felt themselves begin to tire. But just as things began to look hopeless, cheers were heard from the men behind them, and the enemies outside started to look alarmed, and swiftly retreated inside the castle walls. Perplexed, Gunnar looked behind, and saw a glow of many torches approaching.
Soon a messenger came running up to him, winded from his journey. “My liege, the fourth division, which you led to victory in the southern seas, has come to assist our cause! And they have brought ballistas of their own!”
“Now Glum shall feel our wrath!” shouted Gunnar. “Arm the ballistas, and destroy those infernal towers that stand in our way!” To this soldiers quickly loaded one of the ballistas, and as soon as they were done, fired upon one of the towers, which soon gave way to the great might of the weapon and crumbled. Their shouts of joy were cut short however, for no sooner had the last piece of rubble topple to the ground than did two ballistas on top of the outer wall fire their destructive arrows upon the forces of Gunnar, managing to destroy the ballistas just brought by the new troops.
Things didn’t look good, but there was a shimmer of hope- he was targeting my blacksmith at the moment. Taking no time to hesitate, I grabbed a footman and began to hack away madly at the weakest section of wall; that footman met his end to the evil ballistas of Humanmaster(1), but the second footman did the job, and also finished off the lead ballista, while the other one withdrew. I was now overjoyed, because surely this path now before me would lead me past the defenses of the northern frontlines and into the interior of his base. I rounded up a dozen footmen, and sent them through this path of promise.
Sigmund pulled one of the new soldiers aside. “You brought ballistas, but did you bring ladders to scale the wall?” he asked. The soldier nodded. “Yes my lord, ladders were brought, although few for we were in great haste to assemble and come to your aid.”
“A few is all we need.” Sigmund replied. “Get men ready to use, them, and place them by the tower we just toppled, for their defenses in that area are now gone.” The soldier nodded and sprung off. Soon fifty men approached, some of them carrying the ladders, which they quickly set up and began to scale on the side that Sigmund had ordered.
Soon I found out that it would be more apt to have called this route the path of false hope. For even as I neared the other side of this rubble road, a guard tower began to pierce my valiant men. Not one to lose his courage, I spotted the remaining ballista, and eagerly chopped it into kindling. However, Humanmaster(1) would not be defeated by this assault, for he had a tower in each corner, and a fair number of ground troops who lay my footmen to waste. I then went to order up more footmen… and found myself short of gold. I had three footmen back at base, awaiting the inevitable. And as his forces arrived, I tried my best to micro the trio to victory, but it just wasn’t going to happen. I managed to take out all of his footmen he sent but two, probably because mine were level four while his were level three, but at that point it didn’t matter whether he numbered two or two hundred, for I numbered zero. Seeing that the end had come, I said “gg” and then surrendered.
The soldiers scaled up the ladders, and as they did, the other towers began to rain arrows down upon them, falling many of them before they reached the top. Yet some did make it to the top, and these quickly made for the ballistas, slaughtering the men that manned the first one, and followed the second one as it pulled away in a move that certainly meant their deaths as they were struck from all sides by both arrows and the blades of opposing forces, but these brave men did manage to take out both ballistas before their breath was stopped forever. Still, it was not enough, and soon the ladders were pushed over by the castle defenders, and all the attackers had been vanquished.
Soon afterwards a company of footmen made their way out of the gate, led by Skarp of Stone and intent on finishing off Gunnar and his men. They engaged the tattered remains of the supporters of Gunnar, and soon began to demolish them. “It is no use my Lord.” Said Sigmund to Gunnar. “We have lost.”
Gunnar stared off in the distance. “I have failed my people…” he began, but Sigmund interrupted him.
“No, you haven’t. If anything, most of your people have failed you by following after Glum. We must keep the hope of our land alive; we must retreat.”
Gunnar shook his head. “No Sigmund, I will die here like a man rather than live my life a coward.”
“It will not make you a coward. We will come back. I vow to you this day, that before I have breathed my last breath, we shall once again come upon the towers of this great castle, with a great force that will crush Glum.”
Gunnar nodded. “My father always trusted you Sigmund, and so will I trust you now. Let us retreat.” With that, he called over a messenger, and sent word to tell all his remaining forces to retreat into the woods, and soon they began to make their path away from the castle, with the men under command by Skarp of Stone still at their heels. As they skirmished with them, Gunnar and Sigmund both landing blows even as they walked backwards, Sigmund came face-to-face with Skarp of Stone.
“Sigmund.” Skarp stated calmly, looking directly into Sigmund’s eyes. “You have betrayed Lordaeron and your King.”
“Gunnar is my King, and him I serve to death.” Sigmund replied in a voice laced with both malice and pride..
“Very well.” Said Skarp calmly. “Prepare yourself, Sigmund.” With that Skarp drew his sword; Sigmund quickly followed suite. They both slashed at each other, with their swords meeting in between the two of them, sending sparks flying everywhere in the winter night. Both of them were gripping their swords firmly, and trying to pressure the sword of the other out of their hands. Sweat broke out on the brow of Sigmund; he felt himself losing the struggle. I must go on for the honor of my Lord! he thought to himself, but despite this plea to his strength, he could not hold up, and his sword was flung from his hands. Skarp of Stone then put the tip of his own sword to the throat of Sigmund.
“Well, get on with it.” Gasped Sigmund to Skarp. Skarp did not move, but only continued to stare into the eyes of Sigmund. After awhile, Skarp brought his sword slowly down, but never breaking his gaze on Sigmund.
“Destiny does not ordain this to finish here.” said Skarp. “There will be another day Sigmund, another battle in which we will meet again. Thus was my vision I had while my blade met yours. Next time we fight, it shall be to the death.” And with those words Skarp of Stone walked away, leaving behind a perplexed Sigmund, who dazedly picked up his sword, and hurried away towards Gunnar.
As he began walking by Gunnar’s side, he contemplated their situation. Neither of them said anything for a long time, until finally Sigmund spoke up. “I have figured out a plan, my Lord, if you care to hear it.”
“Go on.” Gunnar replied.
“Very well my Lord. We should make our way south, into the lands of Gilneas, and implore Genn Greymane for assistance. Gilneas is the only nation outside of the alliance, and thus the only one that may be persuaded not to heed the threats that Glum will no doubt issue to anyone who may harbor us.”
Gunnar hesitated for a moment, in thought. “But Gilneas does not care much for mingling in the affairs of other countries; how can we rely on them?”
“The orcs that had stationed themselves in Crestfall were preparing for an assault. It is no doubt that they were planning to strike Gilneas, for it was the closest target. No doubt Greymane realizes this, and will be grateful to you for your victory on the seas.”
Gunnar nodded. “It may work for our benefit. Let us tell the men.” And so with that the remains of Gunnar’s followers, who numbered about seventy men, made their way south, to a foreign country ruled by a sovereign who was known to be apathetic to the plights of the other nations of the land.
After the Battle
On reflection, it would have probably been best if not only I had not made that third barracks, but also if I had taken a more defensive oriented approach to my play. It was too tempting for me to do play my usual aggressive game, but for this situation it was defiantly not the best strategy to follow. He let me come to him for the most part, and I fell right into his trap. Also, I should have gone for ballistas earlier, but I tried to avoid it to start because I have hateful memories of games on Nowhere to Run or Hide that were nothing but let’s see who can get ballistas first, and I wanted a game that was deeper than just a ballista fest. Anyways, even though I lost this one (how many people actually report a loss?), the game was still fun since it broke up the normal run of games and offered up a battle scenario rarely played.
Glum stood on the stairs of the castle, in front of a large crowd. It was the morning after the battle, and the want for revenge was escalating among all the citizens of Lordaeron. This is how Glum addressed the people on that day:
“Greetings, people of Lordaeron. As most of you already know, last night my brother Gunnar took the life of our beloved King Terenas, moved by ambitions to attain the throne. But his plan was foiled, and now I have been ordained your King, while he and his supporters flee like the cowards they are. We will not let them escape.”
“On this day I pronounce Gunnar Blood-Axe an outlaw, as well as those who follow him. No one shall harbor them, house them, feed them, or hide them, on punishment of death. If one should capture Gunnar or take his head, great riches await him, and he shall be elevated high into the nobility. If any foreign country dares to aide them, that country will be considered our enemies, and war will be declared. I have summoned my new retainer, whose name is Hrut, and he shall lead a platoon of soldiers out to find Gunnar and slay him in his tracks. These actions I take as the ruler of this land, and with them we will defeat the fiend who has brought our precious Lordaeron so much pain!”
To Be Continued…
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