End of Session 3

Half of the party makes its way back to the wall mid afternoon, meeting with Tumiko. The remainder of the party makes their way back slightly after twilight, having fired the mutilated remains rescued from the marketplace. You come back to find the army about ready to move out.

Tumiko is standing on top of an arrow shelter behind the barricade, and is giving a somewhat stilted, prewritten speech. You can see the entirety of the auxiliary force, about 250 in total, arrayed in groups of 10 in front of her. Each group has a lit torch.

The 50 Iron Fist orcs are mounted and waiting in formation next to them

The speech drones on a bit before coming to an abrupt halt - even Tumiko seems to have grown bored of it. She rolls her shoulders a bit before continuing in a more natural tone

"This is the Rotten Fist - I'm sure you've heard of them. It is thanks to them that some of you are alive tonight. They have successfully cleared the three objectives we're heading for tonight. Buy them a beer sometime"

She finishes off with some awkward silence, a grunt and a wave of her mailed fist, and the auxiliary troops head out. The Iron Fist stays where it is.

Tumiko turns her attention to your party, indicating that you should join her on top of the arrow shelter.

"You've done well. Better than I expected. Which is a nice change. Most of the trash we picked up on the way down here isn't even fit for worm food. Oh, by the way, the Iron Fist hate your guts. This is by design. You'll get over it."

She starts scanning the horizon. From your slightly higher vantage point, you can see the occasional flicker of torchlight. The troops seem to be fanning out in their groups of 10, looking like they're trying to form a line as they sweep across the city.

"We have scouts up in the archers nests, but keep your eyes out. They have alchemical powder to throw on their torches as signals. Red means immediate danger, and the Iron Fist will respond. You too, if you're feeling like some more fun today. Yellow means they've had contact, but don't need assistance. White is a safehouse. Green is a point of interest."

She lapses into silence, responding with grunts or minimal words if prompted, but her mind is clearly on the job

As the hours go by, every now and then you see some of the groups climb up and over mounds of rubble, and once or twice screams ring out. Very occasionally, you see the bright yellow of burning alchemical powder, and once or twice, green. Tumiko clearly notices, but doesn't react.

As dawn approaches, one by one, the torches turn blue.

"They're beginning to reach their objectives" Tumiko mumbles to you.

Just when you think the operation was done, you spot one of the blue torches turn red. A few bright flashes reflect back off the overcast sky, before it all goes dark. Tumiko curses, jumping off the arrow shelter and climbing on her wolf, the Iron Fist scrambling to do the same. Seconds later, a horn from the wall behind you blows.

Calculating quickly, you figure the incident happened near the first dwarven bunker, where the adventuring group was.

While the mounted Iron Fist are faster, you know the route, and reach there roughly the same time. You find 10 dead auxiliary troops, over half of them still burning gently, the other half having been stabbed or slashed.

Tumiko turns to look at you

"We sent a messenger out while you were deployed today. I thought we had reached an agreement. It seems not. They are now persona non grata in my city" she ends with a sigh

Re-investigating the bunker, you find one or two jury rigged traps, but nothing that poses a danger to you. Aside from that, it is left as you remember it.

Aside from those 10, casualties were light. There were three injuries and a death due to shifting rubble and a pit. 5 of the kobolds who escaped you earlier in the day were also discovered and captured.

With a boundary line established, the worker crew run out with materials and spend the day throwing up temporary defenses along it. A couple of dozen auxiliary troops return to man the wall, a few more dozen patrolling the newly made boundary. The remainder of the army take shelter in the dwarven bunkers

Three days after the army pushed into the city, Paralictor Crusher generously declares a feast. Whole animals are brought in from the forest and cooked on spits, a dent is put into the Quartermasters alcohol supply much to his dislike, and a few goblins hammer away on some drums

At the climax of the evening, Crusher climbs part way up a rampart, and whinnies to get everyone's attention

"Brothers and Sisters! Tonight is a night of celebration! Look around us! We stand in the middle of death and destruction as has never been seen in our lifetimes! But do not be angry or afraid. Do not see this city as a loss. See it as an opportunity.

Our hands hurt and our backs ache because we labour to make this travesty right. Every blister is a blessing from Balthazar, brothers. With Balthazars hand on our shoulder we know that we can use our shovels and our hammers to beat back the encroachment of barbarism, just as surely as our axes and lances beat back the barbarians.

Keep your mind on the morrow. The elves may be destitute, hopeless and forlorn, but in Balthazars name we shall build a city that shall never be razed again. In one hundred years time, children will once again play in the streets where you now stand. That pile of rubble will hold a building that sells food, and that one there shall sell clothing. It will be long and hard, but... (Crusher starts sniggering, which turns into a coughing fit)... it will be long and hard, but together we shall achieve great things.

This is what it means to be a Balthazarian, friends. Let us revel in it.

On that note, we have two announcements. Firstly, our shipment of banners and flags have arrived from Greyton. We shall display the sign of Balthazar prominently. Look forward to the smell of demons shitting themselves in fear when they see it!

(Crusher pauses as a cheer goes up)

Secondly, in recognition of their string of successes and multiple noteworthy victories in battle, I hereby promote the Rotten Fist.

(a hesitant clap goes up from the auxiliary troop, but the Iron Fist become somewhat stone-faced)

From today, your designation shall be the Rusty Fist. You are now officially a sub-unit in the Iron Fist. Take these brooches as a mark of rank. Congratulations

(small brooches are handed to you by the Hellknight Tumiko - they're basically a small brooch of a gauntlet made out of shitty iron, description at the end)

Alright. Dismissed!"

The coming month is a slow one. With the excitement of this stage of the military action over, all that remains is patrolling and clearing.

The 400 man strong work crew moves in with wheel barrows, wagons and shovels and attempts to shift enough rubble to make two makeshift ramparts running between the east and west walls of the city, and the hill/living wall surrounding the citadel in the center of the city. Two gates are installed, one on the west side and one on the east. The outer faces of the ramparts are studded with spears, sharpened bits of broken wood and other unpleasantness.

Once complete, the work team turns their attention to the enclosed portion of the city itself, systematically clearing away the worst of the rubble to ease passage between the rampart, the three dwarven bunkers and the wall.

The rampart is broken up into two sections. There is the western section which overlooks what you are told used to be the residential quarter. The rubble looks a little different from the trade district, mostly because residential buildings are built a bit differently from businesses, but the overall feel is pretty similar. From what you can see however, there are no dwarven buildings this time for you to head towards.

Secondly, there is the eastern section which you are told used to hold the city barracks, along with some guild halls. From your vantage point you can't see a great deal, but you think you can still see a standing wall or two which might indicate that this quarter has withstood the attack a little better than the rest of the city.

The general feeling in the city has changed however. When you were in the wall looking out on the unclaimed trade district, the overall feeling was similar to a wild forest. It was mostly quiet but you understood there were hidden dangers and so you were alert. The city now is different, as it has fallen pretty much silent. The gargoyles and harpies have gone, and no movement can be seen beyond the rampart. There is a tension in the air - it's almost like walking through a forest when you're sure something is stalking you, but you can't quite see it.

Congratulations. You're now level 9. You gain a hero point.

Crusher has given you:

The Rusty Fist Emblem