S04E10

## The Battle Continues

The army of House Gaz had defeated the forces of Symon Santagar, but the battle was far from over. Lord Hamza's troops fell back into line with the Volantene front and took Auxwolde and Fiyona to headquarters. Even from afar, they could see that the flag of Baxos Zannar wasn't flying at the command tent, he was elsewhere in the battle.

A cadre of assassins were waiting outside the tent, hungry to kill valuable commanders. They assaulted Hamza and his companions, throwing knives and approaching with swords. Hamza moved to cover Fiyona, who shouted and taunted at their assailants. Auxwolde drew his exotic re-loading crossbow and killed an assassin. Hamza killed two with his ball and chain. Aux killed the last of them with his crossbow's bayonet. They were victorious, but Fiyona and Aux had been wounded.

## The Trebuchet

Entering headquarters, they found one of Baxos's subordinates had taken charge of the battle. The general informed the group that Lysene archers had slaughtered their best engineers and now there was no one left to guide the assembly of their trebuchet. The powerful siege engine could be the difference between victory and death.

Hamza, Fiyona and Aux made their way to the infirmary, their orders were important, but they had wounds that needed tending. Soon after they were healed, they guided workers to assemble the trebuchet. There was one hiccup in their process, but it wasn't long before the siege engine was throwing enormous stones into the enemy's forces.

## Splitting Up

The battle was ferocious and hectic. There was fighting on all sides. The group had to break apart to address smaller tasks withing the fight.

Fiyona found an unattended mangonel. She attempted to fire it by herself, but found the machine too complicated for one person.

Hamza met a captain whose mind was stunned by the harsh realities of combat. He took the captain aside and spoke to him. Hamza's words were inspirational enough that man returned to battle.

Auxwolde discovered a ballista that had been damaged and abandoned. Ignited by his love of crossbows, he rushed to the machine and repaired it. He fired all of the ballista's great bolts and moved on.

## The Heat of Battle

Fiyona sensed that she was being followed between her duties, and sure enough there was an assassin trailing her. Rather than combat the foe herself, she made her way to a group of soldiers and bid them to kill the assassin. The guards made short work of him.

A lord serving as a captain of one of the Volantene battalions had totally lost his mind. He had begun attacking his own troops, ranting and raving as he swung his sword. Hamza saw the situation and judged that the captain couldn't be reasoned with. He drew his ball and chain and dispatched the madman with a flurry of savage attacks.

Auxwolde found a pair of foot soldiers who were sitting at rest, having fled from the battle. Aux scorned the infantrymen, shaming them enough that they picked up their weapons and returned to the fight.

## Charge of the Gladiators

After hours of battle, the army of Volantis was finally starting to push back the combined forces of Tyrosh and Lys. The enemy had one maneuver left to try. They pushed an elite unit of gladiators against the weakest point in the Volantene line. Hamza could tell that repelling this attack would mean victory, and so he rushed to meet the gladiators in combat.

Hamza, Fiyona and Aux found themselves squaring off with a giant Tyroshi swordsman, an adept archer from the Summer Isles and a pair of celebrated Lysene gladiators. Hamza again threw himself in front of Fiyona, protecting her from the archer's arrows. Aux made deft use of his crossbow, killing the Summer Islander. Fiyona shouted out at the gladiators, confusing and intimidating them. Hamza dispatched the two Lyseni with his ball and chain. Fiyona continued to berate the Tyroshi swordsman even as he attacked her. It took all three of them to take down the swordsman, Fiyona giving the final blow with her stiletto.

## To Birth a Dragon

The charge of the gladiators hadn't broken the Volantene line, but it had deeply wounded the soldiers' morale. They cried for Baxos Zannar to lead them, but their leader was not on the field. Hamza, Fiyona and Aux rushed to Baxos's private tent. They found him there, alone and staring at a cup filled with wildfire.

"I'm glad you're here," he said. "I want you to witness the miracle that will bring us victory. I have the blood of Old Valyria in me, and it is time that blood came awake. I will drink this wildfire and transform into a dragon!"

Hamza and his companions were horrified. They began to reason with him, but Baxos was set on his task. The soldiers outside were calling his name, but Baxos wasn't listening. It took the combined persuasion of Hamza, Fiyona and Aux to coax him to put the wildfire down. Baxos finally came to his senses. He gave up the idea of becoming a dragon and instead marched out of his tent and addressed his army.

## Old Friends

Before long, the battle was over. Volantis had won, and her enemies had been killed, captured or forced to run. The Disputed Lands had once again been fought over, once again been scarred by war and pillaging, once again won by a Free City which had no interest in managing the territory. It had been a war for war's sake, rich men vying for glory.

In the aftermath, Hamza found himself once again approached by Braena Hill.

"I'm glad to see you alive, Lord Hamza," she said. "My father, Jojen Glenbain, is camped near here. He has your friend Rook with him. I can show you."

Hamza followed Braena to her camp. And, sure enough, they found Jojen Glenbain and Rook enjoying a bonfire. With them were The Castaways, having survived their ship sinking and the resulting three months of adventure.

## Experience

Each character gained 3XP and House Gaz gained 10 Glory

.