Empires of Ashes

Ket: "A full warpath of thengul is nothing to scoff at"

guy: thengeli don't slit throats we fight you face to face.(he sounds a little offended at that comment)

Kenshin: yeah. Plus I think we can take em if needs must *chuckles*

Trajan: and I doubt it's enough to fight a total of Eight legions of Dracian soldiers, Ket.

Ket: "I wouldn't doubt it. You're awfully confident in your legions."

Trajan: I speak from experience, Ket. I've won more battles with my legions than you are years old.

Ket: "I doubt that very much. given my experience with your legions"

Trajan: *sighs* Did you want something seriously, or are you just here to doubt my experience?

Joachim: Alright, fine. We'll see if the Thengul will let us hitch a ride with them.

Kenshin: I'll talk to them. Less bad blood between us and the thengul.

Guy: were headed for the talon first though i doubt that you will find an unwilling ship in the great harbor

Ket: "I want to know what you're planning. Past killing the emperor and his heir, and adding kelthro to your empire"

Trajan: I told you. My mission is to take Stracia, and fortify the land we've already taken. A full annexation of kelthro is not the plan. Yet.

Joachim: Then if you're fine with it, we'd like to accompany you. Besides, you may need the extra sword arms if we run into Kelthrovi slavers.

guy: it should be no trouble and if they slavers grow a pair it should be a fun distraction

ket: "I don't much believe you."

Trajan: and why is that?

Ket: "You're subject to dracian bureaucracy"

Trajan: we're going to end up going in circles at this point

Joachim: Alright. Come first light, we'll follow your lead.

Guy: you may call me bane

Joachim: Joachim.

bane: it will be a pleasure to travel with you (he gives a bow then enters his tent)

*Joachim turns in for the night.*

Ket: "Hm. Perhaps"

Trajan just sighs

*Mordred is still faffing with his armour*

OOc passing out

Ket: "I would just say temper your expectations"

Trajan: I find your lack of faith disturbing

Ket: "the army we faced was merely a fraction of kelthro's Warriors, not to mention other immortals."

"And they were only a fraction of a challenge"

"The city was taken at a sizeable cost to our forces, so open battle we can win easily, but repeated sieges will take a toll."

*Having satisfied himself with all the faffing around he walks over to the others and stands nearby*

OOC....not really the case rae.
The losses to the dracian legions were on the whole minimal. and they were re-enforced via the river almost right after they drove off the counter-attack

"It was a sizeable cost to my forces"

Ooc: the kelthrovi and bushes lads took a beating

"But overall our numbers have taken minimal losses"

"Your forces took heavy losses. The legions you keep doubting didn't."

Ket: "My forces assaulted the enemy from within, and were I consider the loss of fifty of my friends and comrades a great loss, fifty faceless legionaries mean little to the great dracian legions."

Trajan: every loss is a tragedy. I write to the family of every man lost in my battles personally. I pay for the damn funeral services if they cannot afford to. But it's a damn war. I'm going to lose men, you're going to lose men, we're all going to lose men. So I doubt how that's relevant. And again, my legions assaulted the enemy walls, and took minimal losses in the process. There is no doubt in my mind that unless the kelthrovi prove far far cleverer than they have been in the past, the city is as good as ours. Now do you have a damn point, ket?

Ket: "that you shouldn't spread yourself thinly in kelthrovi lands, men will have to be left to defend each taken settlement, lest it be taken by our more mobile enemy, they know the dunes, and can hit us anywhere of their choosing. This will not be a good quick war. Nor an easy one."

Trajan: incase you don't know, The legions are not spread thin. We've moved in a new force via the river to garrison the city we've already taken, and the rest of our forces are all together, here.

Ket: "not yet, but dracians March slow, your supply caravans March slower. Be sure to never leave a supply line lightly defended, kelthro's doctrine against you is still to strike where you are weak. We must advance slowly, and secure territory well."

Trajan: you're speaking to one of the two most powerful men, in the most militarily powerful nation in the known world, like I'm a god damn rookie commander, Ket.

Ket: "I have been fighting your people all my years. You make that mistake a lot. You are strongest in a pitched battle, but weak in skirmishes where you cannot bring your forces and strategy to bear."

"Ket, what is your god damn point. We are half a days march from our ultimate target, and have scouts assessing the city right now. One seige, and the reason we set out here is ours. Why are you bringing all this up, all of it useless to me, right now?"

Ket: "I believe that my uncle will give you the city, have placed a general he wants gone there to die, then he will siege you, deny you supplies, and starve dracias biggest army."

Ket: "he cannot risk a pitched battle against you, but destroying your supply trains, and cutting you off from your other legions. He can most certainly."

Trajan: I know. Hence why Consul agrippa is also en route. If he gets here too early, he will set up camp out of site of the city, and attack a beseiging kelthrovi army from behind. If he is on time, which his reports tell me he is, he will arrive and attack any beseiging kelthrovi army as he does. This has been pre planned long in advance, ket. What is more, if he takes too long, we have a substantial force garrisoned at the river standing ready to re-enforce from that way.