Empires of Ashes Reboot

The warriors march past focussed on clearing the immediate area instead of the dead, any kelthrovi who raises arms against them is felled with impunity by cymraic steel

before too long, the first legionaries enter the gateway, and begin to spread out, century by century, through the streets, clearing every passageway.

Behind her veil, she smiles, and murmurs a prayer to some desert god almost forgotten, continuing to watch the clouds go by. The cymrai catch up with the immortals as they push towards the inner walls, surrounding the Shah's palace. Engaged with an organised force of slaves, held together around the remains of the isicabu pikemen, those not slaughtered on the walls.

the isicabu have managed to organise into a close formation phalanx, locked shields, pikes lowered. For the now, they have the advantage over the immortals due to the reach of their pikes, but that advantage is growing thinner by the moment

Wherever the Immortals are lacking men the Cymriacs fill in their lines, helping to surround the Iscabu.
Amongst their number stands the prince, silently coordinating his men.

the legionaries are flooding the city by now, descending on the central walls from all directions, having slaughtered any who block their path.
Before long, Diana spots the IV'th legions Prime century approaching to reinforce her position.

Diana's T'sebi, alongside the remains of Hakon's and the prince himself, evidently keeping his newly valuable warrior close to him, are locked in combat to the west of the palace gates, while the cymrai fight to the east. The gates remaining open as warriors retreat inside, preparing to hold the walls. Arrows shower down from upon the walls in a weak rain, picked shots rather than volleys to avoid injuring their own. In the front line of the fighting, diana sees the IV's with a short glance over the shoulder.

The street is clogged from wall to wall, warriors stepping into doorways for any advantage angle may bring.

moments later, a volley of pila answer the archers on the walls, many falling, the rest being driven to seek cover.
As the defenders try to recover, more volleys keep them pinned, this time from a century of Scutarii crossbowmen, having set up their pavises, unleashing waves of bolts from their repeating crossbows.

The cymriacs hurl javelins and push forwards with their shields locked, slowly forcing the phalanx back.
With the dracians entering the city, the Prince’s own men now join their comrades and add their longbows to the fight. Bringing numerous pikemen down with devastating volleys of arrows.

The hemorrhaging of men from the backlines of the kelthrovi force continues to weaken their position, but they hold fast for but a few more moments, even as the gates swing closed behind them. But once the deafening thud is heard, and bolts are thrown across, the exhausted defense falters and begins to crack

A second pila volley is launched, falling into the defenders from on high, preceeded by a cry of AD VICTORIUM from the dracians

The defense cracks wide open on the west side, the immortals pushing through and cutting down the last of them, striding lock step over their bodies. Forming quickly into a wedge with spears lowered, they move briskly towards the thicker force holding the cymrai and eastern force of immortals at bay, drawing to twenty metres away, some of the kelthrovi turn to form a ragged defence to the charge, and the immortals break to sprint.

Titus and his cavalrymen sweep the streets, looking for any potential kelthrovi reinforcements and devastating them with a heavy cavalry charge.

On the eastern side the Cymriacs wait, thinning the pikemen to the point of uselessness before pushing foward. In these minutes the rain of arrows is ceaseless and any man not hiding behind a shield is reduced to a corpse.

The cavalry find no more kelthrovi, save for wide, scared eyes behind the cracks of doors and through shutters, and the dead and dying. Stumbling across the road, a slave warrior, blade in limp hand, hand on a shallow wound to his shoulder looks up at the oncoming riders.

The group trot forward with spears raised and their leader, a tall well built man emcased in dracian Segmentata speaks
“You. Warrior, do you speak this language”(common)

He drops the sword and raises his hands, as if to hold them back from him "ibakiwoni mesi rati āyidelemi. goditwali inē"

Titus looks at the cowering slave and uses his spear to gesture for him to hide in a nearby house

the dracians begin to assemble near the inner wall, as trajan and his guard appear near the immortal prince

Ket is blood splattered, but otherwise none the worse for wear. "Trajan."

The slave walks sideways, not taking his eyes off them, before turning and running into an alleyway.

Trajan: Ket *smiles* that was nice and easy. Although I'm going to guess the citadel will not be so simple.

Ket: "that depends. I suggest we offer terms, if not, we have plenty of material to construct ladders and rams. These walls are not so high, and this gate not so thick."

Trajan: Agreed. *he gives some kind of hand signal to one of his men, who nods and rides off*

OOC: How far is mord from the rest of the cast

OOC: A hop skip and a jump across a pile of corpses.

Trajan: well, you speak the language better than me prince *chuckles* I'll leave the diplomacy to you.

Ket: "Indeed... Perhaps an ally can be made of this Shah."

"if not, just another head to roll"

Mordred walks over and nods to ketverahi
“Good work”
Amd looks to Trajan
“What now uncle?”

"We wait and see if the citadel surrenders"

“We surround it then?”

"indeed. Make preparations and such"

Ket: "How to deliver a message... Hakon.. find me parchment, paper, string and a brick."

the dracians begin to set up

Said brick messenger plan is enacted. Culminating in Hakon shouting. "yilik’unisi!" And hurling the brick over the wall.

*patient waiting*

The Cymriacs do as one would expect and help the Dracians, while the youngest warriors strip the enemy dead of weapons and armour

*shortly after a man shouts off the battlements.* "ti‘ibītenya wishetami, AYDELIMI!" (No surrender traitor)

Trajan: *he speaks kelthrovi* well, direct assault it is. Ah, just in time. *a horse drawn cart approaches, driven by the soldier who rode off before. something is on the back, wrapped in cloth. LI approaches the cart and takes the thing off the back, putting it on the floor with a loud clang. At the same time, on trajan's signal, several legionaries enter a testudo, escorting what appears to be a reinforced ladder to the walls.

Ket: "Where in sufani's name did that come from?"

Trajan: I had it ready just in case. LI!
LI: sir.
Trajan: capture the wall for me would you please?
LI: yes sir. *she unwraps the object revealing... an unusual shield. it is steel, and rectangular, as tall as LI is, and very thick. The unusual part however is its shape. it shaped like a large wedge, with the bottom sloping outwards like a giant plough, and it has 2 handles. LI takes it in one hand, putting her longsword in its scabbard on her back, and approaches the wall, basically ignoring any arrows that come her way. Moments later, the ladder is erected, and she is scaling it, shield still in one hand.

Ket: "Hakon, take your T'sebi up after the clavae."

Hakon: "Swordwork?"

Ket: "Yes."

Hakon leads his T'sebi to the foot of the ladder, having dropped their spears, and shields raised, they prepare to ascend following LI.

despite anything thrown at her, LI swiftly reaches the top, and with little effort makes room for herself on the battlements. Placing the shield in front of her, and taking it in both hands, she...sprints along the battlements. In essence, she bulldozes anything in her path, with the kelthrovi soldiers on top either being trampled underneath, crushed between the clavae and the battlements themselves, or simply thrown from the ramparts to their deaths as she ploughs her way along the wall.

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