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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Aug 20, 2023 10:09:04 GMT -5
While a large knight with a big weapon and a lot of armor is expected to be able to handle monsters and kill beasts, Leandros was honestly more excited to work with the survey corps for the moment. It wasn't often that he was able to put his study of military history and tactics to use. There were few areas of study behind physical training that he took to, this was essential his main academic pursuit.
So with great excitement he joined the head of this wing of the Corps at a planning table, a surly gnomish man with think glasses and a hand seemingly permanently attached to his chin to rub it in thought. The two looked over the map of the area they had, fortifications already laid out and the new ones being shuffled around.
"Eh! This should be fine, we have good flanks here. When we come out to face the bastards, we just funnel them in." The gnome grinned in total agreement with himself.
"That would work with a traditional army, but this isn't that. These creatures are intelligent, but they aren't an organized force. They won't react in the same way."
The gnome seemed to wave him off as Leandros sighed, looking for anyone else to help.
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Post by Ulrich Ambriz on Aug 22, 2023 5:40:36 GMT -5
"Hey, you know what, Ulrich? How's about you help out the Survey Corps?! They've got something going on right now that you may want to take a look at!"
That was the suggestion given to him by Stefanie before he found himself being whisked away to the Corps' encampment. Apparently they needed muscle in preparation for a big hunt; something Ulrich would probably find himself not participating in. At least that's what he thought anyways.
He'd just arrived at the encampment. A few faces he recognized made their way around the camp tending to their given duties. Most of the others made an attempt to stay away from him— he couldn't really blame them— since he never traveled solo these days. Accompanying him on this journey was a young behir with an unusual mustache on his lip, and a pixie floating around excitedly; looking around excitedly at her new surroundings. The young behir, Lil Frijole, was growing larger with each passing day and he would only continue to do so. Which meant that he couldn't ride on Ulrich's shoulders anymore. Ulrich reaches down to pat the young behir on the head as he looks up at him. Lil Frijole was now just above Ulrich's waist, and he wasn't exactly cutely squeaking anymore either.
As they made their way through the camp in search of who was in charge, Ulrich stumbled across some men gathered around a planning table. It seemed as though they were brainstorming their plans for the aforementioned big hunt that was happening soon. A gnome at the table seemed to be pleased with his own plan despite the others looking not so thrilled with it.
One of the men disagrees with the gnome's plan, causing him to wave the man off as if his opinion hadn't mattered.
Ulrich stared in confusion. Had he really waved this man off? He certainly looked like he knew what he was doing. More so than himself if he was being honest with himself. He was just a traveler that gave the W.E.F. information on things he'd come across out in the world until recently. Now he found himself part of the Forces themselves, helping them research new areas and fight beasts.
Clearing his throat; breaking the silence of their contemplation, he says, "Excuse me gentlemen, I've been sent here to assist with the operation."
A bandana tied around his coat's sleeve bore the sigil of the W.E.F. indicating that the bespectacled man was a bit new to the Forces.
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Aug 22, 2023 18:29:45 GMT -5
"More help is never a bad thing." Leandros smiles broad and confident as he offers a hand across the table. "Leandros Aurthurian of Capitol Landing."
It was easy to mistake the knight for someone high-ranking in the guild given his nature and general look, plus being more heavily armored than most though that might not be the benefit it usually is in the mesa.
The gnomish man let out another noise of disapproval, in his opinion he had already made the right decision so why did he need so many other voices? Just shut up and do as your told youngins, but you can't yell at recruits like at any more. At least those are the grumbling thoughts running through his scruffy-haired head.
"Fine, fine, you lot wanna change perfection do it, but don't complain when you die!" He sat down in his chair, crossed his arms and faced away from the pair.
There is a long and stern stare from the knight, but no word is said. Strife and argument aren't what is needed, just let the old man have his tantrum.
"Do you have any experience planning battles or anything of the like?" Leandros looked back to Ulrich, his eyes finally picking up on the others with this man giving them a curious but friendly look.
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Post by Ulrich Ambriz on Aug 25, 2023 17:40:42 GMT -5
Ulrich extends his hand out to meet Leandros' greeting, "Pleasure to meet you Leandros. I'm Ulrich Ambriz, a new member to the W.E.F." The young behir peaks his head out from behind Ulrich; the pixie was poking her head up from behind the behir's. Their behavior was reminiscent of children taking in new surroundings for the first time. They both looked at Leandros with curiosity as they watched Ulrich shake the knight's hand.
Ulrich looks down to the two of them, "And these two little ones are Lil Frijole and Aella. I've decided to care for them as they're both very young. Say hello you two."
Lil Frijole's tail begins to wag gently as Aella brings one of her arms up to wave to Leandros; big smiles painted across their faces.
The group hear a voice from behind Leandros grumble mostly to himself, and as they peak around Leandros, they see a gnomish man plant himself in a chair and face away from them. He could barely be heard grumbling to himself in frustration. Seems he wasn't going to be wanting to get to know them any time soon.
Ulrich contemplated upon his answer, "Planning battle like this? I'd have to say that I don't have much experience in that, really. I am willing to give any input, if you'll have it."
Of course it was just Ulrich's nature to go the route of concealing his abilities. However, the scars of various battles was on full display as his coat sleeves were rolled up just meeting his elbows. The two youngsters look at Ulrich in confusion; they didn't understand why he always tried to make it appear as though he wasn't a fighter.
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Aug 27, 2023 9:49:17 GMT -5
"I've certainly never seen any be-ings like yourselves." Leandros smiles, trying to cover the fact he nearly said 'beasts' and had to course correct. It was a reflexive word, but an unfair one. Just another moment for the knight to seal away as "things to unlearn from Sol City education."
He offers an apologetic look to the group as the gnome seemingly gives up on participating in this conversation.....though the fact that he's still here at the table is an odd choice. Leandros figures he still wants to join in the conversation, but just wants to be stubborn about it. Fine, he supposes.
"Planning is certainly a lot different than just fighting." Leandros makes a small head nod towards some of the scars, it's not too hard to noticed the shared bond of scars between fighters. Leandros may wear his thick armor, but even polished there are nicks and scraps covering it.
"It's part guessing game and part strategy....We want to try and create a situation that puts as many advantages on our side of the table as possible....but the main disagreement here is I don't think we can handle this with traditional military tactics."
The knight sighs and puts his hands on his hips looking at the map again. The placement of seige weapons and fortifications was a pretty solid set up for a traditional defensive position, but they weren't defending, they were attacking.
"His hope seems to be baiting the enemy towards this area, but I have my doubts something like the Troll King is going to follow the rules of engagement."
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Post by Ulrich Ambriz on Sept 4, 2023 3:04:54 GMT -5
Ulrich's eyes shift towards the gnome now sitting in his chair as if he were pouting, and then back to Leandros as he explains the situation at hand. He takes a look at the map noting the terrain and markings of areas in which the aforementioned gnome man figured would be the best for their strategy.
Traditional military tactics...
Judging from the rumors Ulrich has heard from the other W.E.F. members, planning a strategy for this particular being would prove to be quite difficult.
"I'm inclined to agree with you, Leandros. From what I've heard," Ulrich spares a quick look at the back of the gnome before looking back towards the map, "This particular tribe of trolls aren't your average run of the mill trolls." He brings a hand to his chin in deep thought; remembering the conversations he'd heard on the ship. "What is concerning is that given their intelligence, it is a high chance that the rules of engagement could mean absolutely nothing."
Defensive measurement were a good tactic surely, but they didn't need to be defending, did they?
"The placements in mind," he drags his finger along the map and taps at each marking, "Would you mind if we had a look? I'd like to get a lay of the land for ourselves, seeing as we've only just arrived."
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Sept 4, 2023 12:33:12 GMT -5
"Of course, take your time to settle in, there really is no wrong answer, just trying to find the most strategic." Leandros motions a hand for Ulrich to take a seat and pull up to the table.
The battle plans seemed to focus around a specific valley in the Mesa. Currently the hope would seem to be luring the trolls from the caverns they live in and pulling them towards the low point of the terrain. There the siege weapons would have the upper hand thanks to height and tight quarters. There were...issues with the plan though. On top of it being hard to predict where exactly the trolls would go, it also put whoever was playing your bait at a disadvantage. The team would be trapped in the valley and at risk of catching friendly fire from the ballistas and trebuchets. It was risky, but it could work.
As Ulrich thought over everything and considered the plans, Leandros had wandered off slightly to bring over a drink for both of the men. One was set in front of the gnome as well who was still pouting. The knight took a drink from his tankard before setting it down, resting his hands on the desk as he leaned forward.
"Any thoughts? I've stared for a few hours and have found it hard to decide what exactly should be done."
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Post by Ulrich Ambriz on Sept 24, 2023 23:57:23 GMT -5
Ulrich pulls a seat up to the table and starts to scan the plan laid out on the map in front of them. As his inquisitive eyes continue scanning across the paper; leaning forward and clasping his hands together as he rests his chin upon them in deep thought. The two little ones prop themselves up to have a look at the map as well. Although they wouldn't have the slightest idea of what they were looking at.
He hadn't even noticed that Leandros had gotten up to grab drinks for them. "Ah, thank you," he says kindly as the tankard is given to him. He looks up towards Leandros with a sort of puzzled look on his face, "Well, if this situation has you stumped then I'm not faring any better. As I see it, we're sure that the enemy will come out through these caverns, yes?" A finger point and taps on the circles plotted on the map of the area. "Given the information that these trolls are a rather big threat is concerning..."
He leans back in his seat with a sigh through his nose, "This is quite a difficult situation, indeed." He leans forward again; his hands gently landing on his thighs as he looks around at the equipment surrounding the camp. "I think we might need to have a look at the actual area. Perhaps an idea will come to mind as we help prepare the area in question?"
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Sept 25, 2023 9:28:50 GMT -5
"At the very least it gets us a different perspective at all of this." Leandros gives a sharp whistle and heavy hoof steps follow behind. Byrr pulls up outside the camp and huffs as the knight approaches.
"Should only be a half hour journey or so." In a surprisingly fluid motion for how large he is, Leandros lifts himself onto the horse with ease giving the horse's shoulder a pat.
Thankfully, the influx of other adventurers and planning has made the path to the intended location of the fight clear. The trolls seemed to have gotten the idea that this would not be such an easy place to raid and leave the main camp alone. When they get to the valley, other members of the W.E.F are clearing spots where seige equipment might go.
The valley itself seems like just a big bowl of sorts. There isn't a lot of defensive positioning they can find. Some of the rolling landscape can provide a decent enough point of elevation, but there's nothing protecting them from trolls surging upwards.
"I think our best hope is the strike team that confronts the King can keep him and some of the crowd occupied....if we are lucky the seige weapons can thin the crowd before our two forces meet."
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Post by Ulrich Ambriz on Nov 3, 2023 12:12:04 GMT -5
The two arrive at the intended location of the battle. Ulrich takes an inquisitive look around at their surroundings; a couple of adventurers clearing places here and there for the equipment, a few others surveying the area all the same, and some looking to be trying to formulate plans of their own. He hoped their foresight would be far better off than his at the moment.
The environment they found themselves in, as Leandros had put it just earlier, was shaped like a giant bowl. Equipment was being placed well above the intended spot for the strike team to confront the trolls, but there were a number of factors that needed to be considered. Would the adventurers operating the siege weapons be properly trained so as to not accidentally strike one of their comrades? How could they be certain that the team down in the bowl would be enough to not only survive the initial wave of trolls, but also keep them occupied long enough that the herd could be thinned out before even considering climbing out of the bowl?
Very concerning questions indeed, but at this point in the preparation phase, only time would tell when the situation arrives.
"I agree with your assessment, Leandros. I think all we can do at this point is position the equipment well and hope for the best when the time comes."
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Nov 3, 2023 20:26:41 GMT -5
Leandros puts his hands on his hips and overlooks the field with Ulrich. There really isn't much good or bad about this spot which has its benefits....but downsides as well. He couldn't help, but agree with Ulrich though. There really wasn't much they could do until this all went down it seemed.
He gives a small nod and lets out a breath, "Well there is comfort in knowing I was not so far off base." The knight laughs softly and pats Ulrich on the back. "Sorry for dropping this on your plate out of nowhere....but someone to break the loggerhead was certainly needed."
Leandros draws in one more large sigh before his face settles into something a bit more serious as he looks over the field once more. He hasn't really ever led an army or anything like that, but he's been in enough fights and studied enough theory. Time to see if it means anything.
He can see the formations moving though....vague little people moving along the maps in his mind....They've done the best they could it seems.
"Should we head back? Rest will be in short supply in the next few days."
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Post by Ulrich Ambriz on Nov 13, 2023 14:50:35 GMT -5
"Oh, don't worry about it," the image of the gnome turning away from them enters Ulrich's mind as he laughs a bit. "I'm sure he wouldn't have budged, and it looked like no one else was coming to help with that."
He takes one last look at their surroundings as Leandros seems to go into his own process of deep thought on the matter at hand. He had not felt as worried as one would assume they would be, given the situation. The W.E.F. was capable of handling situations like this. Ulrich had been working with the organization unofficially for the better part of a decade. He'd been told things by Stefanie from time to time.
I'm sure it'll all be fine.
"Heading back would great. We are a bit tired from all the traveling and such." He turns his attention to the two little ones beside him. Aella was resting atop Lil Frijole's head while the young behir made sure not to move his head around as playfully.
"If there is anything else would like us to help you with in the coming days, don't hesitate to ask. I was sent here to help in any way I can, after all." Ulrich says offering Leandros a warm smile.
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