The Hire 36.

The Colevar Mountains. The Southern Reaches. In The North Of The Kingdom Of Nastell...

Tovis the war engineer looks away to his right and sees the hamlet that's on fire this night.
The young engineer from the kingdom of Druvic, who is now in the armies of Farque. Is walking alongside one of the trebuchets that's been pushed down the hill, and has left their lines, and is crossing the valley, heading south.
Tovis who can hear fighting in the distance towards the enemy battlelines, winces as his second in command, the sorcerer Larris calls out from the otherside of the war machine "Spell incoming!".
The thirty or so soldiers, predominantly from the army of the robber baron Markell, who are pushing the trebuchet forward, bring it to a stop.
As a still object, is far easier to protect than a moving one for a spellcaster.
Tovis, who just hopes whatever it is that's heading towards them is visible. As the unseen spells are just the worst in his opinion.
Drops to the ground, and covers his head with his hands. As do most of those who have been pushing the trebuchet. While the others crouch behind it. As they all hope that the sorcerer Larris can protect them from whatever one of the enemy spellcasters is sending their way,
The young engineer who leads the engineering corp in the Farqian mercenary army, glances up, and grimaces as he sees a rather large fireball hurtling and rolling through the night sky towards them from across the valley.
"By the gods" mutters Tovis the war engineer who isn't usually a pious man, but he thinks something along those lines is appropriate considering what's coming towards them.
Watching it get closer and closer, the young engineer who is from the east of the kingdom of Druvic, wonders how his second in command is going to protect them and the trebuchet form the ball of liquid fire heading their way.
He finds out a few moments later, when the fireball. Just thirty feet infront of the trebuchet, is deflected to one side, and hits the ground further to the right of the war machine.
The spell rolls across the ground, where the ten foot wide ball of liquid fire burns everything it comes in contact with for a good twenty yards or so before it finally comes to a stop, and sits there burning down into the ground.
"Keep moving!" calls out Larris before Tovis has a chance to call out a similar order. The young engineer hops up, and helps those turning the front right wheel of the trebuchet.
Once the war machine gets underway again, the war engineer, who is a senior officer in the Farqian mercenary army. Walks behind it, and joins his second in command on the otherside.
"Wonder if we're in range yet?" asks Tovis the war engineer as he peers ahead towards the enemy frontlines. Most of which is now dark, as duke Hargen's army have extinguished most of their lamps and torches in their lines now that the battle has well and truly got underway.
The only thing that can clearly be seen, is the torches and fires, in the enemy warcamp up the hill above their battlelines. But even then, there's not that many compared to earlier in the evening, just after dusk. Before the army from the unruled lands in the southern reaches of the Colevar Mountains to the north of the kingdom of Nastell, launched their attack upon duke Hargen's army on the south side of the valley.
While in the valley itself, you can see in various places. Due to the amount of fires from burning trees, and other things on fire. Including two of the war machines under the command of Tovis.
One of the smaller trebuchets is well and truly on fire. While one of the catapults is also on fire. Both of which are like eerie looking beacons this warm night in the northwest of the duchy of Phelm.
As they push the trebuchet around a line of trees that have been blasted and felled over the last couple of days.
Larris the sorcerer says to his commander "Another one going up this way in a few moments".
The young engineer nods in understanding, and looks southwards towards the enemy battlelines.
And shortly afterwards, the night sky lights up in that direction. As a spell cast by one of the practitioners of magic in the army of the robber baron Markell, to be exact, one of the two dwarven diviners, takes affect.
The strong effect lightball, illuminates towards the enemy battlelines, and above them in this part of the valley.
Tovis can actually see individual enemy soldiers moving about on the bulwarks and palisades of their frontlines.
"A couple hundred more feet and we'll be in range" says the young engineer, who then calls "Keep it moving!" followed by "Not too far now!". As the lightball in the night sky infront of them, starts to dissipate.
Creating a haunting effect over this part of the valley. Even more eerie than the two war machines that are on fire.
As it's happened before when a lightball has gone up. They and the others in the army from the unruled lands in the southern reaches of the Colevar Mountains who are nearby, become a target for the duke's army.
In particular his spellcasters.
Tovis winces as he hears his second in command mutter "Shit". Then Larris the sorcerer calls out a warning again, this time it's "Spells incoming!".
The young war engineer doesn't like the sound of that as he drops to the ground, while the trebuchet is brought to a stop.
He doesn't know how his second in command is going to protect them from multiple spells. As Larris so far this night, has only had to protect them and the war machine from a maximum of two enemy spells at the same time.
Tovis looks up and finds the sorcerer standing there, presumably casting a spell of some kind to protect them all, and the trebuchet they've been pushing across the valley as the battle this night progresses.
Suddenly the young engineer from the kingdom of Druvic sees another person standing beside the sorcerer Larris. It's a figure as dark as the night. It's Mira Reinholt the mage, who reaches out and puts a hand upon the left shoulder of the younger spellcaster.
An instant later, and a lightning bolt hits something invisible about thirty feet infront of the trebuchet, then disappears.
While an energyball coming towards the war machine, veers upwards, and eventually passes over the top of the large trebuchet.
"You should be able to deal with that by yourself" says Mira Reinholt the mage to the sorcerer Larris as he gestures towards a slow moving fireball that's left the enemy battlelines, which is now heading in this direction.
The sorcerer nods his head after he takes a deep breath, then Larris says "Thank you councillor" to the mage Reinholt.
"No worries" says the once powerful mage who is shielded thanks to an amulet he wears, so that he's undetected to the enemy spellcasters, infact all spellcasters.
The mage who is in exile from his homeland, the city-state of Vexil, and is now a member of the personal council of the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
Has been going around this night, helping out the spellcasters in the army of the robber baron Markell's army. As well as those practitioners of magic in the Farqian mercenary army who are here.
To protect the war machines and the army that's crossing the valley towards the battlelines of duke Hargen's army that's here defending this part of the duchy of Phelm.
The Vexilian mage in exile, who is also a highly skilled swordmaster. Has yet to do any offensive spellcasting. Something a mage would normally only do.
But he's being patient, and is biding his time. As he knows that once he starts casting anything of a destructive nature. And in particular creating something that only he as a mage can create.
It will give a definitive advantage to the army from the unruled lands of the Colevar Mountain's southern reaches, which is led by those of the Farqian mercenary army who are here with them.
The mage Reinholt is waiting for a decisive time, where it will tip the battle in their favour. A battle that got underway earlier this evening, just after nightfall.
"Keep moving!" calls out Tovis the war engineer after his second in command, Larris the sorcerer sends the enemy fireball careening away to the right of the trebuchet and those who are pushing it into range of the enemy battlelines.
As the war machine trundles forward, the swordmaster Reinholt stays with them for a while.
The spellcaster who was once the most powerful mage of his generation to be found anywhere in the Southlands, says to the war engineer and the sorcerer who is his second in command "You hear that?".
Tovis has indeed heard it, and he immediately recognised what it is, a few moments later and they hear a thump on the ground, somewhere further infront of them.
"They're taking pot shots at us" says the young engineer in the mercenary army from the lands Farque "They're well short though" adds the war engineer who originally hails from the Harkonin fief in the kingdom of Druvic.
"It'll be close, especially for the smaller war machines" says Mira Reinholt, who is part of the personal council of lord Farque "But you should have an advantage with this one you've got here" adds the once powerful mage as he peers ahead into the darkness.
Tovis glances around, and spotting the runner in the Farqian mercenary army with them, orders "Go and tell the following wagons to hurry forward, as we're almost in position to set up".
"Yes captain" says the young runner, as captain is the war engineer's rank, captain of the engineering corp.
As the runner heads back to where the wagons carrying the shots, or loads for the war machines are.
Tovis who can clearly hear fighting somewhere away to the left, and forward of their position, says "Sounds like some heavy fighting going on that way" as he gestures in the direction he can hear the fighting.
"Those dwarven warriors in Markell's army are at their frontlines" explains the mage Reinholt after casting a spell to see at night "Some pretty heavy fighting going on there alright" adds the exiled Vexilian spellcaster.
"We're in range" says the sorcerer Larris to the war engineer "Halt!" calls out Tovis, and a few moments later the trebuchet rolls to a stop.
"Set it up to shoot" says the young engineer, and the crew of the trebuchet, who are made up of a mix of engineers in the corp of the Farqian mercenary army, as well as soldiers in the same army. Quickly prepare to the trebuchet to shoot.
While those soldiers in the robber baron Markell's army who helped to roll it forward across the valley. Hurry back, to the approaching wagons. As some of the shots, will have to be taken from the back of the wagons when they get here.
Tovis who can hear the wagons, and the teams of horses hauling them, approaching the trebuchet he's been with.
Here's another of the war machines under his command, somewhere away to the left. Another trebuchet by the sounds of it. Fling a shot forward. And since he can't actually see it. He assumes, rightly as it turns out. That it's just flung a netting full of large rocks, or a boulder forward through the air.
The thud in the distance, along with the shouts and screams of pain that he's able to here. He realises that it was a boulder, which clearly hit somewhere amongst the battlelines of duke Hargen's army.
A wagon pulls up behind the trebuchet, and the crew of the war machine use the chainline, and rope on it, to lift out the large netting full of rocks in the back of the wagon.
As they do, the sorcerer Larris deflects another enemy spell that comes from the duke's army, towards the now stationary trebuchet.
"Bit different to the battle at castle Lé Dic i gather?" quietly says Mira Reinholt the mage to the young engineer as the two of them stand off to one side.
"Definitely" is the reply from Tovis the war engineer who continues on with "For starters this is a whole lot bigger" he then adds "Not to mention it's at night".
The shielded mage nods his hooded head, then he quietly says to Tovis "Keep pounding them, and we'll smash apart their lines" the highly skilled swordmaster continues with "Remember, they just want to hold us up, and not let us out through the south side of the valley" he then adds "That's bit of advantage for us".
The mage Reinholt who has got a hand in one of his pockets of his thin black summer cloak, then tells the young engineer from the kingdom of Druvic "Even so, they'll just sit there and try to wear us down, which they can do since they outnumber us by quite a bit".
The war engineer in the Farqian mercenary army nods his head in understanding, then he calls out to the trebuchet crew "Range it!".
As he knows they'll have to rely on Larris to do that, as he'll cast a spell to see in the dark. Or one of the other spellcasters in either the mercenary army from the lands Farque, or the robber baron Markell's army will have to put up another large lightball in the night sky over this part of the valley.
Which wouldn't be ideal, as that will make them a target for the enemy. Especially now since they're so much closer to the frontlines of duke Hargen's army.
"Another turn" says Larris to the trebuchet crew, who pull the counterweight up a little bit higher on the war machine.
Then once the load is laid out on the ground behind the trebuchet, the sorcerer looks over at the young engineer and tells him "Ready to shoot".
"Fire!" orders Tovis the war engineer, the crew pull on the firing lines, and they come undone. The counterweight drops, and the arm goes up and forward. First dragging, then lifting the load. Sending it up and over, then forward. As the rope tied between the chain and the net full of large rocks snaps in mid air well above the trebuchet. And the shot goes sailing away through the night sky, heading southwards.
"That's going to hit them" says Mira Reinholt the mage as he watches the shot head towards the enemy battlelines thanks to the nightvision spell he has cast upon himself.
The sorcerer Larris who has cast a similar spell upon himself, nods his head in agreement with the member of the personal council of the lord and ruler of the lands Farque.
"Good" murmurs Tovis the war engineer, who doesn't have to give any orders to the trebuchet crew. As they're already getting the war machine prepared to shoot off another load, which is a boulder on the back of a wagon that's just pulled up . . . . . .