Yew War 2 - First Battle
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
Title: Yew War - First Battle
Author: by Garrett Granth
Several days ago, I recieved word from William Smit the IV that the Stormreaver Orcs were going to finally live out the ultimate dream of the Stormreaver Orc Clan, to take their ancestral home of Yew from the humans. They wanted someone to witness this historic event, and they chose... me.
Somewhat distressed over William's reversion back to his old, orcish ways, and somewhat distressed over the fact that the Orcs were attacking Yew, I went to the Orc Fort, where Grishnak told me what his plan was, and that he needed someone who could speak the language of men to tell of the great battle. So it began.
Monday I arrived at the Stormreaver Orc fort, expecting the usual crowd of five or six Orcs. I was, quite simply, shocked. I counted approximately fourty Orcs milling about, snarling, eating strange things, and generally being disgusting. With the sudden appearance of a human in their home, the Orcs snarled and went on the defensive, surrounding me rather quickly.
"Dis de humie we not to clump?" Snarg asked Grishnak. Grishnak looked. Then, he was distracted by a small rabbit hopping by, so he had to look again. "Err. yub. He mojo scwibble and draw pictures."
I breathed a sigh of relief and sat down to watch the "festivities" as the fourty something Orcs hit each other with blunt (and not so blunt) objects, cut cloth into bandages (which they called healies.) and ordered the slaves to bring them more of the "Majuk waddah" which, for all practical purposes, seemed to look exactly like potions, though I noted that their refreshing red potions contained more blood than most alchemists require. I also noticed that the Orcs were rubbing dead, rancid rats up against their weapons, much in the way that assassins poison swords, and, as only a few Orcs had this ability to rub rancid rat against a sword properly, many of the others were asking these gifted few to "rat" their weapons for them. I noted this and began to wonder if it would be effective in battle.
"Fark!" Grishnak began to shout. "Fark! Who tuld them idits to go to da ruins?!" Apparently, this was not a good thing, as Grishnak began to beat his head against a wall. "Me wunt everyone to get into the fort!" he shouted. "Into da fort!"
"Into da fort, into da fort!" the Orc chorus began. "Ju too, humie." Shak'nak said, pushing me along.
When everyone had gotten into the fort, it was a shocking site indeed. I counted the Orcs, there was a line of thirty Orcs, with various high ranking Orcs, which Shak'nak said were the "Waarghs, Captains and nobs" milling about on ostards. I had never seen the Orcs ride any mount before - usually I saw them eating mounts.
Grishnak stood before the shouting, smelly masses, and began to rally his troops. I could not always hear him, being in the back, but the effect was profound. When he charged the Stormreavers to take back the land that the pathetic elves and humans had conspired to take from the Orcs, the troops were so enthused that they could have taken on the Bludgod himself. Just as Grishnak finished his first round of shouting, the hulking demonic form of the Bludgod himself came from the ground, his towering figure merely observing the gathered Orcs. The Bludgod smiled and nodded and then vanished back to where ever it is he hails from.
"Fur da Bludgod and Grishnak! Hoowah!"
"HHooooowwwaaahhh! "
"Take ober Yew! Har har!"
"Hoowwhaa!"
With that, and a few shouts from Grishnak, the Orcish horde thundered from the fort, shouting a vicious warcry as Qog led them to the battlefield.
"Dis is really sumthin, humie." Grishnak said to me.
"Indeed." I replied.
"Ju be drawin' sketches an rememberin wut happens, cuz dis be de beginin of de time dat de Orcs take back wut we had taken frum us!" And with that the Orc chieftain ran to join his shouting troops, the nobles running along side him with the frightened ostards, through the woods towards Yew. I ran after, unable to keep up the frenzied pace of the berzerk orcish hordes.
Out of breath, I arrived at the ruins north of the fort and south of Yew where the Orcs were laying their ambush. Grishnak took a break from whipping his troops into a bloodlusting frenzy to do some cold, calculative military planning. As he ordered the troops to split into three groups, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder.
"Ah, Garrett." I heard him say. It was William Smit the IV. "How do you like my handiwork?" "Your handiwork?" I replied. "I thought that retaking Yew was the calling of the Stormreavers."
"Aye, it is..." William replied. "But I helped bring it to this." "Oh really." I said.
"Yes. Enjoy the show, Garrett. And make sure you don't get killed." "I always manage." I replied.
I muttered some unheard words beneath my breath. Had Will had given the Orcs this idea so he could take Yew in this manner after having lost the mayor's election? But, there was no time for that, things were happening.
Grishnak's troops, the largest force, remained in the center of the battlefield. He sent the other two forces off, one to the east, one to the west, so that the forces formed a cup that would surround the Yew army as it marched in from the North. Tactically, it was a brilliant plan, except that the Yew army decided to march in from the east instead of the North. The eastern wing was slightly outnumbered the soldiers at least three to one. It did not look like something the Yew army would survive.
Please see Part Two of this story.