The Homecoming 139.

A Conspiracy Of Idiots...

Up on the south wall parapet of castle Lé Dic, the former earl of Lé Dic smashes the shield of Saint Mar-che into the face of a Harkonin soldier that's just popped up over the top of the wall.
"That's it men, give it the old heave, ho" says sir Percavelle Lé Dic in a cheerful manner, as he encourages a couple of townsmen, a castle servant, and a soldier in his niece's army. To shove away the enemy scaling ladder with the pair of polearms they've got.
The heavily armoured knight then looks down into the south courtyard of his family's castle. Where he sees the large form of the ork warleader, Dorc da Orc near one of the war machines.
The big, burly ork, who has a dead Harkonin soldier slung over each shoulder. And has another two tucked under his right arm, and another under his left.
Is talking to Tovis the war engineer, nodding at the catapult the two of them are standing next to.
The former paladin sees the ork weaponsmith dart a glance up his way on the battlements, before resuming his conversation with the young man, who until recently was baron Harkonin's war engineer.
The knight in the order of Saint Mar-che looks quickly to the west along the parapet. To where Riley Hait the mercenary ranger is above the gates, here on the south side of the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
"Lé Dic!" shouts out the heavily armoured knight by way of encouragement to the defenders along the battlements. He also shouts it out to make his presence known.
The former knight of the first class grins behind the faceplate of his full helm, as quite a few of the soldiers, castle servants and townsfolk along the south wall parapet shout out his family's name in return.
Above the south gates of castle Lé Dic, Riley Hait the mercenary ranger who has just helped load the one ballista that's operating at the moment, sees one of the ballista crew looking up in the sky to their left.
The ranger Hait looks up too, and blinks as he sees a couple of bodies go flying across the moat, to hit the edge of it. Narrowly missing a raft, that's being poled across the water to the south wall of the massive castle that's been the home of the Lé Dic family for centuries.
The mercenary ranger who hails from the elven principality of Envadarlen, looks back and down into the courtyard.
Then rolls his eyes as he sees one of the catapults being reloaded, with dead bodies.
Riley Hait who sees Dorc da Orc talking to Tovis the war engineer next to the catapult.
Looks closely to make sure that the bodies being put into the cup of the war machine are enemy soldiers.
He sees that they are, and he breathes a sigh of relief. Then he sourly smiles as he sees the ork warleader who is grinning from ear to ear, gesture towards the base of the wall.
And a few moments later, a couple of castle servants near the war machine, go that way, with a stretcher they're carrying. To collect more of the dead enemy, who have fallen off the battlements along the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
The mercenary ranger who in actual fact is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra by the name of Zubutai Timaginson. Who just happens to find himself inhabiting the body of Riley Hait.
Turns back around to look at the enemy, as the ballista shoots off the ten foot long, heavy spear that's just been loaded into it.
While further along the parapet to his left, Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman once again hears the shout of "Lé Dic!" come from many of the defenders on the south wall of the massive castle.
Looking up to the battlements, Dorc da Orc sees sir Percavelle Lé Dic looking back down at him. And though the large ork is scowling as the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che looks at him.
The warleader of the ork race nods to the former earl of Lé Dic, who quickly nods his full helmed head in return.
"Keep shooting more of them Harky cunts over the wall" says Dorc da Orc to Tovis the war engineer.
The ork weaponsmith who noticed that some of the war machines were getting low on shots to fling over the south wall of castle Lé Dic. Came up with a ready supply of loads for the catapults and trebuchets in the south courtyard. Dead Harkonin soldiers. As there's plenty of them, who have either been knocked off the battlements. Or rolled off after being killed up on the parapet.
The son of the former matriarch of the wolf tribe of orks, then tells the young engineer from the fief across the border to the east "Me just go and get some fucken more of them" as he gives a rather vague gesture towards the south wall of the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the nobleborn Lé Dic family.
The big, burly ork sets off towards the south wall, not straight to it, but more of an angle, heading to the south gates of castle Lé Dic, to be exact, just to the side of it.
As he does, Dorkindle hears the shouts of "Lé Dic!" from up on the parapet.
And though he's got a scowl upon his broad, green, brutish looking face when he hears that.
He darts a quick look towards one of the set of steps that come down from the battlements along the south side of castle Lé Dic.
On it, he sees sir Percavelle Lé Dic hurrying down them to the courtyard. The nobleborn knight is rushing down the steps without a care in the world. As he just wants to get down to the courtyard as quickly as possible.
The warleader of the ork race grunts as the former paladin jumps down the last few steps to the courtyard, and turn quickly in this direction, and heads along the base of the wall.
As he does, he looks up at the parapet above, to above the south gates. Which Dorc da Orc does too.
The two of them look up to see what Riley Hait the mercenary ranger is doing.
And though the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che can't exactly see the mercenary ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen.
The weaponsmith from the wolf tribe of orks, can see the ranger Hait. Who has his back to the courtyard, as he's preoccupied with the enemy attacking the south side of castle Lé Dic.
Dorkindle looks over at the heavily armoured knight and nods. Then the large ork hurries into the tunnel in the wall, about forty feet from the gates on the south side of the massive castle.
A few moments later and the former earl of Lé Dic rushes into the tunnel too. The tunnel that goes through the wall to the sally port just off to the side of the main gates here in the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
"Hurry you filthy demon" demands the former paladin as he catches up to the large ork, who just grunts, then mutters "Fuck up ya cunt" as they head through the tunnel.
Dorkindle grunts again, and moves aside as they get near to the portal.
Seeing why, sir Percavelle Lé Dic says "Righto chaps, open it up" followed by "The beast here, and myself are going out there again to give those Harkonin filth another thrashing".
The trio of soldiers who man the sally port, who have only opened it the once so far in the battle. And that was only at the orders of the mercenary ranger, Riley Hait who is in command of the defence of this side of the massive castle. And that was to let both sir Percavelle Lé Dic, and Dorc da Orc in.
All glance at one another, and though they know they should only open it again from an order above, from the ranger Hait.
They can't deny their former earl, who is the uncle of the young girl, who now rules the Lé Dic fief.
"Just a smidgen now" says the former knight of the first class as he takes a helbard from a weapons rack along one side of the tunnel.
"Don't want any of those rapscallion Harkonin blighters knowing what we're up to wot" adds the nobleman who is both a landed, and an ordered knight.
Then once the trio of soldiers have got the braces off the back of the sally port, and two of them swing it slightly open.
Sir Percavelle Lé Dic peeks out to one side through the slightly ajar portal. While towering behind him, Dorc da Orc whose head is below the ceiling of the tunnel, hisses in anger at the sight of the water at the base of the wall, on this side of the massive castle that's been the home of the Lé Dic family for centuries.
"Hmmmm" murmurs the former earl of Lé Dic, who then pops his head back, and looks at the helbard in his hands, then he frowns.
The knight in the order of Saint Mar-che looks back at the rather smelly ork weaponsmith behind him, and quietly, well quiet for the nobleborn knight at least, tells the big, burly ork "Beast you will have to do it".
The heavily armoured knight continues with "Tis a bit far for me" sir Percavelle, or Percy as the rest of the group more commonly refer to him by, then says "You and your ape like arms should be able to reach".
The former paladin steps aside, and hands the helbard to the weaponsmith from the wolf tribe of orks. And as the trio of soldiers in the Lé Dic army move quickly out of the way. The big, burly ork from the bottom of the world, steps cautiously forward.
Scowling, not to mention growling at the water that's less than a foot away. Dorc da Orc peeks out the slightly ajar sally port.
After a few moments, the ork warleader grunts, and pushes the portal open a bit more, sniffing as he does so.
Behind the son of the former matriarch of the wolf tribe of orks, the former knight of the first class, who would like nothing better, for the large ork to fall into the moat. For the simple reason he stinks so much. Which isn't helped as they're in a near enclosed tunnel within the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
Says to the ork weaponsmith "Careful beast, try not to damage it" the former earl of Lé Dic then murmurs "I do not fancy taking an unexpected dunking, nor do i suspect, do you".
After sourly smiling, and grunting in reply to the heavily armoured knight behind him. Dorkindle slips the helbard out through the slightly ajar sally port.
With his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth, and one eye closed as he concentrates, the big, burly ork who hails from the southern polar region of the world.
Then starts grunting as he tries to snag with the helbard, an enemy raft that's to one side of the sally port.
The warleader of the ork race slaps the water with the head of the helbard. But on his second attempt, he's able to snag the floating raft, as the small axehead of the long weapon slams down into the wooden raft on the moat at the base of the south wall of the massive castle, that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
Dorc da Orc grunts as he hauls the raft this way, knocking down those who are on it. Some of them end up in the water, as does the ladder they've been holding up against the south wall of castle Lé Dic.
The former paladin pushes the portal open further, and says to the trio of the soldiers who have been here in the tunnel, manning the sally port all day, every since the battle for the massive castle began in the morning.
"Close it up good and proper once we've gone through lads" says sir Percavelle Lé Dic, who sees the raft come into view, and tells the big, burly ork "Out of the way now beast".
The large ork scowls at the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che, though he does move out of the way, still keeping a hold of the helbard, the small axehead of which, is still wedged into the raft that Dorkindle is pulling infront of the sally port, on this side of the massive castle.
The former earl of Lé Dic leaps out from the portal that's open in the south wall of castle Lé Dic. And he lands upon the raft that's been hauled to infront of the sally port.
After the nobleborn knight knees one of the remaining enemy soldiers on the raft, in the face as he tries to stand up.
The former knight of the first class, turns to the wall, and backs up to the far end of the raft, shoving into the water an enemy soldier who is trying to keep his balance on the edge of the raft.
Dorkindle with the helbard in hand, leaps out of the portal, to the waiting raft that the heavily armoured knight is already on.
The former paladin winces, while he couches down at the end of the raft. And though he holds his breath in anticipation at the thought of the big, burly ork sinking the raft.
It only goes up in the air a foot or so at the end where Percy is crouched when the ork weaponsmith lands on it, before it drops back flat.
With Dorkindle as he lies there, sprawled out, growling and muttering in the incomprehensible language of the orks at splashing water on himself when he landed on the raft.
Sir Percavelle Lé Dic has picked up the long pole lying on the raft, turned and put it into the water, and starts polling them across to the otherside of the moat.
Looking back at the ork warleader who is sprawled on the raft, the former earl of Lé Dic tells him "Hurry up and push us along you smelly green demon".
"Fuck up cockface" growls Dorc da Orc, who then grunts and says "And you fuck off as well" as he punches a Harkonin soldier in the face who is trying to clamber onboard the raft.
The large ork who is still holding the helbard, gets to his hands and knees. Then flings the long weapon away to the left, where is smacks into the enemy on another of the makeshift rafts on the moat on this side of the massive castle that's the ancestral home of the Lé Dic family.
The big, burly ork from the southern polar region of the world, then picks up one of the wooden boards used as a paddle.
And carefully sticking his left arm out over the edge of the raft, he dips the board into the water, and starts padding. Helping the knight in the order of Saint Mar-che to get the raft across the moat.
As out of the corner of his left eye, Riley Hait the mercenary ranger sees another couple of dead Harkonin soldiers going flying over the top of the wall, shot from one of the catapults down in the south courtyard of castle Lé Dic.
The soldier next to the mercenary ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen says "Ah sir". "What is it?" asks Riley Hait the mercenary ranger.
The soldier in lady Linara Lé Dic's army nods down to the moat below them and says "Down there to the right".
Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson looks down to where the soldier has nodded, then he mutters "Shit" at what he sees.
How the fuck did they get down there? the ranger Hait thinks to himself, who immediately figures out that the two on the raft he's watching, the heavily armoured knight, and the large ork, must of gone out the sally port to the side of the main gates here on the south side of castle Lé Dic.
"Fucking idiots" Riley Hait mutters under his breath, who then looks beyond the moat, to the rear of the Harkonin army, down in the tourney field to the south of castle Lé Dic, where the enemy have their camp.
The mercenary ranger who is in command of the defence of the south side of the massive castle, and by default all of castle Lé Dic.
Then looks quickly back down at the raft on the water that sir Percavelle Lé Dic and Dorc da Orc are polling to the otherside of the moat.
"Oh shit" murmurs the ranger Hait as he has pretty good idea where the two of them are going, as he looks back to the enemy camp on the tourney field to the south . . . . . .