The last few months find you and your army in the forests by the border.  Reports had come of a legion of Imperials slowly making their way to the border.  In the meantime, you have amassed assistance from a few more orc tribes.  All the while, the Imperials wait, and your forces grow stronger and stronger.


You wait, while the rain pelts your face.  Every orc is silent as the ground starts to become muddy at the intensity of the precipitation. 


You signal the orcs to move forward, a slow trod through the mud.  The Imperials are moving dozens of soldiers through, but if all goes to plan they'll never make it to the staging ground.  By the time you reach them, you are hoping their supply wagons will be stuck in the mud, and their horses antsy at every trick and sound of the forests. 


When the time is right, you will strike, and make them pay.  If the Imperials seek to break their treaty, you will show them the consequences.  You all have your padded leather gambesons over your chainmail, extra leather straps tied around to reduce some of the clinking the chain tends to make.


Riding forward, you catch Grolik's eye, who nods at you.  Rolomag as well, who winks and pats his heart with his palm in a sign of respect. 


Coming up to a ridge, you signal your forces to stop.  Creeping low through the foliage, you see the Imperial columns.  As suspected, their wagons seem to mostly be stuck in the mud.  At your signal, your archers start their painstaking crawl over to the ridgeline. 


The other third, slowly bring their horses onto both sides of the columns, preparing their charge.  On the other side across from you, some of the lawless orcs should be preparing their attack on the Mannate soldiers.  The cavalry orcs should still be fighting their way through by the time the archers are done, and when that happens they will slide down the slope.  You don't want to run the risk of accidentally shooting your cavalry, so the archers will have to work fast, but by then the Imperials will be surrounded, and you should be able to crush them. 


As the rain intensifies a bit, their horses get even antsier.  As the lightning strikes, the soldiers look into the dark forests, fear apparent.  When the thunder claps, their officers bark orders to hurry and move the wagons from the mud.

You join the Cavalry

On your horse, you go around to join the cavalry.  As you do so, you signal the archers, the lightning briefly illuminating your warriors.  For a moment, the heavens are silent, the wind stops causing the trees to sway, and a single arrow soars through the air.


The Imperial officer lurches back, the arrow slicing through his shoulder.  He falls off his horse with a thud, and the rest of the soldiers try to escape, but it is already too late. 


You and your cavalry have them caught in a pincer movement.  As you ride by, you lop an Imperial's head clean off his shoulders.  Before long, some of the humans have mounted horses in a vain attempt to buy their fellows time to escape. 


Galloping through the mud, you rush to meet one of these foes.  Before you is a tired looking man, a wild look in his eyes as he gives a mighty battle cry.  His sword clashes against yours, the rain splattering off the twin blades.  You circle back to face him again, a slight burning sensation on your neck.  To your left an Imperial soldier stands, fixing another arrow, the first arrow's head had just lightly grazed your neck.


Ducking, you spur your horse forward, turning back around to face the man who you had clashed with before.  Three orcs are upon him, as one sends his club into the man's gut, the other two hack and slash him with swords.  It takes some time before they pierce the mail he wears, but they are effective.


Charging towards the small group of archers, you throw your axe.  The blade misses, instead the blunt side slamming into the man.  He holds his face, blood dripping from his nose.  A few arrows almost slam into you, but by the hand of Gigalak they are swept aside.  You ram your horse through, trampling two men and cutting another's chest open.


As you circle back around, you grab a spear from a leather pouch at the side of your horse.  Chucking it, the spear impales an Imperial. 


By now your archers have joined the battle, and the Imperials are all but surrounded.  As they group up, they seem to realize the futility of their fight, and some even manage to run into the forest to escape.