3. *'War of the White Dragon' -Defender Meeting*

*'War of the White Dragon' -Defender Meeting*


  • Ginger looks over the map

    Can we get into Spellweaver Keep from the pass? Can a Spellweaver mage get into the Keep from the Emerald Tower? I know the top of Spellweaver Tower offers a dragon's eye view of Norwick. I'd like to get a peek at what the bugbears have done to the town - where there weak points are - before we go making solid plans on how to take it back. I guess I'm suggesting a bit of scouting out their defenses.

  • G

    Lyte speaks firmly

    _"The enemy are the bugbears, goblins, orcs and giants, led by the dragon…not any of us gathered here.

    This foe is strong, and they have kicked all of our asses around, lets not bicker, and lets try and pull together...otherwise we might as well hand them all the lands on a platter, aye?

    Dwin is 100% right about Sam's Hill being the strongest defensive spot in the region. It offers great visibility, the ground the enemy approaches from is relatively flat and has little cover, and it is flanked on one side by the wolves camp, and by our western defenses on the other.

    Losing Norwick as we have, we really couldnt ask for better ground to make a stand, and stand there we will.

    The weaknesses present to the defense of the Hill are to the west, above the wolves' camp. Those high cliffs wrap around, and are a threat.

    Somehow those need blocked off, or a huge gap dug out, to prevent the enemy from flanking Dwin on his west. The Wolve's Den itself needs to be included inside the defensive perimeter, aye?

    The other cliff, between our two forces, that run towards Norwick also need a trench dug to keep the enemy the blazes off it. The access up there should be eliminated, and obviously, a gate or other obstacle should hold the access point at Dwin's center.

    If Dwin thinks it would be useful, I propose a gate between our two forces, on the cliff we share. It would open on Dwin's left, and our right, and allow us faster aid to one another. See my little crude little sketch I made out there yesterday.

    http://www.pixhost.com/pixd/dukstuf/norwick1.jpg

    I'm sure Dwin is already on top of this, with similar ideas, and I just wanted to present my thoughts on the matter.

    As far as the cliffs out between the Temple and the Keep go, if we are going to try and take Norwick back, it is my opinion we should do it in steps, as we did with the Orc fortress. Instead of thinking of "taking back the town", we need to think practically at the ground it sits on, and approach it in a military fashion, one conquerable piece of real estate at a time.

    That means taking what ground we can, holding it, until we move to take more. The cliffs overlooking Norwick's gates are the obvious first step, however, I dont have a good map to know how feasible this might be to hold once were on it, and of course, the enemy is too strong for a direct assault to take it without huge casualties that could prove fatal in a counterattack by the enemy.

    Other preliminary moves would need to happen first to cut off or weaken their response, and frankly, the enemy is very, very strong.

    I dont like to be pessimistic, but, unless we can come up with a really clever scheme, that doesnt involve invisibility, doesnt seperate our meagre forces so that they cant support one another, and somehow lessens the enemy's superior numbers available for fighting, I dont see this succeeding.

    The first thing we need, however, to really plan taking Norwick back, is a solid map, with a clear picture of what the enemy has done with the points of entry into the town, and the cliffs, and the condition of the walls, the gates, and so on.

    What say we get this first, then consider the possibilities."_


  • I think Lyte is referring to the cliffs overlooking the gates of Norwick, just north of Norwick and slightly south of the Keep and the temple.

    ((along the southern edge of the S Nars Pass map))


  • Dwin glares at the wiggler that all of a sudden is offering tactical defensive advice. He starts to say something, shakes his head, and sighs

    Not worth it. What do wigglers know of defenses and war anyway? These are the same folks that sent an old graybeard wiggler out as a scout recently… one of their best who is now worm-food... or worse...

    Holding that hill… that may be difficult, but I agree that launching an attack from that hill will be easier than it would be from Sam's Hill.

    I believe Sam's Hill is a stronger defense position, though. The Hill in the middle of the pass can be easily surrounded and then the seige will be on us...

    The attack needs to be swift. If holding that hill and using seige weapons from that location is part of the overall idea, then so be it. We should not have any disillusions, however, about being able to keep that hill for any duration of time.


  • ((Norwick had been focusing on improving its southern defenses for a while (forums posts that go a while back) and doing minimal amounts of improvements to Sam's Hill … the real focus on Sams hill didnt happen until AFTER the town was taken.

    I can respond IC if you want, but because none of the builds ever went in, I will assume that perhaps you werent aware that IG, Norwick's southern defenses had in fact been quite improved.))


  • Maybe the little effort that was put into fortifying Sam's Hill would have helped more if it were spent on the southern defenses instead. Regardless, that is past, we need to think about retaking the town now.

    Lyte's suggestion is that we take back Norwick more gradually, not dividing our forces with a feint and sneak attack, but starting just with the hill that divides Norwick from the southern Nars Pass. If we hold that hill, overlooking Norwick, we could mount a further assault on the forces occupying the town. This sounds like a sounder plan, to me, as it divides our forces less, and makes the elemental reinforcements that could be used to actually take the town more believable. If we can effectively hold that hill, I think this is the way to go.


  • Dwin snorts and looks at Alvah

    Norwick's full might?

    Norwick's "full might" was erroneously SPLIT between guarding our flanks and fighting on Jiyyd's walls.

    NOW, we have the full might of Norwick on the hill. We also have the full might of the Dwarven Hold. We have Peltarch's soldiers and archers from the camp.

    And you want to continue to run?

    Folks! we have a VERY limited window of opportunity here… We are already building the defenses that Lyte has mentioned... if we move now, we hand over more footholds to the enemy and leave Norwick further and further from our grasp!

    ((waiting for the dev/build at this point)).

  • Y

    Alvah nods and delivers a brief retort

    _"While I do know that Jiyyd is the breadbasket of Narfell, I would point out that the enemy would gain nothing by taking it if it were first destroyed as I suggested.

    In one regard, you are correct. There would be hungry, desparate people. Especially in my home, Peltarch. However, I would wager that this is largely unavoidable; how long do you suppose the farmers in Jiyyd will be able to continue processing crops while an army of orcs, giants, goblins, bugbears, and even a dragon besiege their very walls from three sides?

    I think that attempting to fortify Sam's hill with nothing but its present defenders would most likely be for naught. I would remind you that the full might of the Norwick militia was unable to stop the enemy you are proposing to block with a few portable barricades when they were fighting from behind Norwick's larger city walls.

    We are too few in number to attempt to cover a front as spread out as the one we are currently attempting to hold. Choosing a smaller out would improve our chances considerably."_

  • G

    Lyte nods, listening

    _"It seems obvious to me that losing both Norwick and Jiyyd means destruction for all towns and communitys within marching range of the enemy.

    Much of Peltarch's foodstuffs, and also ore and wood originate from it's south. Pirates and storms make shipping in raw materials expensive and unreliable.

    The more southern communitys that fall, the more homeless, desperate people will eat up the foodstuff left available from a shrinking supply.

    Each step we fall back increases the likelihood for a total enemy victory, with us losing resources, and the enemy gaining.

    For this reason, we are forced to hold Jiyyd and the crossroads as a new line….and this position could certainly be much, much worse.

    In effect, it is is one front, not two. It is a long front, yes, but it is easy for us to move troops along it's straightish, flat, roaded length...and much harder for the enemy to move troops from the roadless, forested,cliff broken fronts between the near plains, and the valley north of Norwick, which are the enemies two active fronts.

    Now, we absolutely need to baracade and wall Sam's Hill, yes we do. It has naturally excellant ground, which is fortunate.

    We should be able to interlock the hill with the cliff we already defend adjacent to it. Currently we have baracades there, but perhaps we could add a gate on the cliffs, between the two positions, for fast access to aid one another.

    Also, I suggest we move our existing artillery, catapults and the like, onto the strip of cliff between Sam's Hill and the western defenses, where the Gypsys have for long posted right between our forces.

    There, all of are artillery will be centrally located to strike both south east and southwest, defending either section by turning slightly.

    Our dragon weapons also should be set and camoflauged in this region, to support an attack on Sam's Hill or the Jiyyd defenses.

    Key right now is to get baracades, walled gates and such things up on the hill....and fast.

    We have sent the extra barracades we have over, and they are portable and sectional, and are simply pegged into the ground. I expect many are already firmly in place as we speak."_


  • Dwin furrows his brow.

    Havent ya seen the smoke comin from Norwick these last ten-days? Norwick IS burnt… Not much stands there from what I hear.

    As for the supplies they reap from Norwick, we had enough for a small town to last a ten-day or 2 at the most. I would assume those supplies have already been squandered and spolied by the invaders.

    Norwick is not a supply resource for them, but I do not doubt it is now a depot for their own supplies, soldiers and filth.

    The Rawlins is where they draw their supplies from.

  • Y

    Alvah waits for a suitably long lull in the conversation and hubbub caused by Grag's sudden appearance before slowly rising to his feet and speaking.

    _"First of all I would like to state that I hold no title other than Sentinel, and hold sway with no political organizations in any town or city. In fact, I command but a few loyal men.

    Furthermore I should say that understand the desire to not lose any further ground to these invaders.

    However, with due respect to those plans that have been presented here today, my conscience obligates me to point out the unfavorable position that current plans of attack would keep us in.

    Jiyyd's defensive wall was an incredible effort, however, there was one fatal flaw in its design; the designs, like most of us, did not forsee the fall of Norwick. However, a wise man knows that plans must be altered as situations change.

    The situation has changed.

    As it stands, those defenders that still live from the fall of Norwick have little chance of holding back the armies that they are now proposing to sally fourth and assault. If Norwick is no longer a barrier, there is nothing to keep them from marching right into Jiyyd behind their defensive line. That means that Jiyyd now fights a war with enemies on three fronts. The orcs in the central plains, the giants to the east, and the goblins and bugbears that will no doubt come from behind when it suits their purposes.

    With this army ready to march right around the Jiyyd wall, we are forced to acknowledge that the wall is no longer fulfilling its intended purpose. Thus, there is no reason to keep it.

    One way that has been suggested to deal with that problem is to attempt to hastily retake Norwick with a sneak attack. This -may- work. However, I would say that it is most likely not the best option. To get the number of warriors that such a plan would require defenders would have to be drawn from Jiyyd's battlements.

    As I recall, the enemy nearly overran those at the same time that it was taking Norwick. The enemy has the numbers necessary to make it safe for them to divide their forces. We do not.

    The report we heard earlier stated that the enemy is drawing most of its supplies from raids on Jiyyd, and from recently occupied Norwick.

    I say we take those supplies from them. Norwick is a wooden city. Burn it, and take away the enemy's supplies by doing so. Of course, if a single, united, stand was the chosen course of action, something similar would have to be done to Jiyyd. We would take what supplies that we can carry from it, and destroy the rest.so as to avoid it being used by our enemies. Once the people there are evacuated there will be no reason for us to make our stand in such horrendous conditions."_

    Alvah points up towards the large map that Lyte used in discussion of her strategy.

    _"The logical place to hold them is north of the crossroads. Further north than the Hobgoblin cave so as to avoid the possibility of a flanking assault. We could hold them there. The combined forces of Jiyyd, Norwick, the Camp, and Peltarch. There we would fight without our self imposed divisions impairing our ability to achieve victory. There we could fight as one.

    This would also allow us to group our artillery, and anti-dragon weaponry in such a way that would maximize its efficiency.

    And while it might not leave a sweet taste in our mouths, I do believe it is the option most likely to bring about victory."_

  • S
    Legion

    Walks in covered in snow and uncloaks himself*
    Freinds I have been honored to be visited by my old freind Argentius the gentle! HE gave me hope and showed me a way to git to Sharn! I shall be assembling a task force to git rid of this abstad we shall CUT OFF THE HEAD AND WATCH THE BODY ROTT!!! raises his arm in anger THose tha I willbe nedin I hope ye will musta up the courage for this dangerous but very importunt mission to stop this war onc ean fer all!
    scurries off to send letters to those needed


  • Lily opens the binder looking through it and following Lyte before answering

    "Number two under …'eatin' the Pan. If we 'ave folks tha' can successfully ruse the orc into believin' they 'ave a mage capable of summonin' constructs… Are we equally able ta place an orc ruse within their gates ta gather intel?"

    looking over the plans some more she continues...

    "Another alternative brought up by others as far as deversions go was mebbe using the same ruse yuh folks are talkin' 'bout 'ere ta trick something else into attackin' the Norwick gates. Mebbe trolls... We 'ave enough maglin's wanderin' 'bout as em day in day out... mebbe one a em could trick their ranks into fightin' against the orcs. Wether it be with words... or one a their brethern fallen to a claimed bugbear beserker…"

    shrugs tossing out some questions and ideas as she continues to flip through the binder...


  • I have discussed a plan with Dwin to take Norwick from the east, the south, or both. Combining his plan with the invasion by the Featherflights will make it much more effective. I think that plan is a bit more fleshed out, sounds a bit more manageable, and should be used in lieu of "heating the pan".

    I would add one more element to our overall plans, which is that we should try to intercept enemy messengers with our own sneaks positioned at certain strategic chokepoints, especially in the underdark. It is actually not difficult to travel quietly and safely through the underdark, if we're lucky, if we hold the chokepoints against runners, and keep our force as far east of the lake as possible, moving quickly.

    The elemental force cannot be summoned quickly, it will take days to build it up. It will have to be raised either around Oscura and brought through the underdark; in Saurial lands; or someplace else–perhaps the Featherflight lands, if they'll allow it. That's something that needs to be looked into seriously.

    I doubt we can stop them from getting resources in the Rawlins. It's just too big and too spread out. Also, the goblins and orcs apparently aren't trading much with each other. I would rather move into Norwick quickly and hold the gates before they can muster reinforcements than hitting them anywhere in the Rawlins and thus alerting them to our attack before we secure the towns.

  • M

    "Jerr, flight into the Featherflight camp can be arranged.

    "Lyte, if this affects your plan at all, druid scouting trips have revealed that there are normally around 100 bugbear, 300 goblins, and a few orcs and giants in Norwick. They patrol the area to the southeast of town the least, though orc runners have been seen that way."


  • Dwin listens to Lytes plan with a concerned look on his face.

    The Rawlins is THEIR limitless resource base now. Not just food, wood, ore… but manpower... We need to have some kind of force that will hit them hard in the Rawlins during an attack such sas this, or we will face wave after wave of greenskin and bugbear.

    For decades, if not centuries, the forest has been kept in check by settlements. Now they own it all and travel freely throughout.

    We cannot let this supply chain go unchecked... we need to cause a major diversion south of Jiyyd and Norwick in order for a plan such as this to work.


  • Sudoc stands on his seat and exclaims

    I like Dentin's idea! Let's just blow them all up.


  • Jerr calls out form the back . . .

    Cera has said that the Rom will house any evacuees we bring to the camp. Once behind the defences we can open camp them or send them past the Hobbies with a small strike force to place them inside gypsy boundaries.

    We can send limited drum calls to the Featherflights to help coordinate but more complex messages will need a person to fly there, avoiding the traps. Beorn should be consulted and briefed in detail for the full extent of this.

    He then sits back down and continues to listen taking in all around him with a quiet (for him) gaze

    Jerr

  • G

    General Lyte has been listening intently to each report, and several times takes some notes down on one thing or another. After Colonel Dwin, Captain Genzir, the Peltarch officer, Dentin, the member of the Sentinels, Aelthas the young Captain of the Gypsy Camp, and others have offered reports and information she again steps forward.

    _"Thank you all for your timely information. Great thanks to Peltarch and General Lavindo for sending us more companys for helping hold Sam's Hill and patrol the supply road north…two critical areas that will spell our deaths, should they fall into the enemies hands.

    Much of our future existence depends heavily on each of our respective forces working efficently together, and sharing intelligence. Too often, a commander falls into the trap of keeping his or her plans to himself, which then requires them to personally supervise the timing and objectives of an assault or of all defenses him or herself alone.

    We need to firstly trust one another.

    I will not be keeping back plans. The leaders of every faction for the defense is present here today, which is a rare occasion.

    There are some who would council secrecy, but it is my thought that here we face an enemy composed of evil frost giants, orcs, bugbears and goblinkind.

    If we cannot believe the Captains gathered here as trustworthy, I feel we do not deserve to survive. So, I will be sharing with you what plans and strategic ideas I have to ensure our eventual victory.

    I trust each of you will be careful with this information, sharing it only with those you trust most, who need to know."_

    Lyte smiles slightly, she is calm and her actions, like her words, seem confident, yet, somehow pleasant to watch and listen to.

    _"The most important single thing for all commanders to keep in mind in this war is that we are outnumbered. The enemy is not just more numerous than us, they are also stronger.

    That is the reason for carefully placed, extremely heavily baracaded defenses. If we cannot beat the enemy toe to toe, we need to whittle him down over time, bit by bit, while still surviving ourselves.

    Each day that we live, the enemy is a little bit weaker.

    Now, the enemy, as we have seen, isnt going to be content to attack carefully finished defenses that we are crouching behind. They will try to lure us to one area, and strike elswhere where defenses are incomplete, or where we are weakest.

    Taking this tendency into account, which they have used to great success taking Norwick, we should be able to use feints and surprises to lure them into committing armies into traps which they cannot quickly reinforce.

    We may even be able to retake Norwick using such a plan, but, it seems to me striking them directly is much less likely to succeed.

    Before unveiling a plan of battles designed to take the hills near Norwick, I would like to touch on what we cannot allow to happen, and our general defensive status, for any unaware of the outer fringes of this vast battlefield."_

    Lyte flips a map

    http://www.pixhost.com/pixd/dukstuf/supply.jpg

    _"An army can only fight when it is in supply. A town that is cut off from outlying farms and other towns can be starved out.

    The city of Peltarch itself, which we think of as unassailable and huge with it's massive walls, has to eat. Much of the regions produce….wheat, corn, fruit and vegetables, comes from the region in which we live.

    With Norwick taken, we can fight on. But if Jiyyd should also fall, what then?

    Jiyyd's situation, her survival, depends heavily, perhaps absolutely, upon the supply the long road, which leads to the crossroads and hence the Gypsy Camp and Peltarch.

    As you can see, losing the crossroads is not a viable military situation. We could perhaps lose either Jiyyd or Norwick and still win a war, eventually, against these armies assembled against us.

    But, we cannnot let the crossroads fall against such formidable foes, if either town's economys are to survive.

    These things....bugbear blackguards, frost giant berserkers, orc elite warriors, would completely halt all traffic on the road, permanately. Jiyyd would starve, no matter how strong her defenses.

    So, our fundamental rule to survival is to hold the crossroads, via the Sam's Hill position, which has excellent ground, is anchored by the Wolve's den in the west, and the Jiyyd western defenses in the east.

    The defenses west of Jiyyd are now complete, and quite formidable in that they force the enemy to proceed through narrow gates flanked on both sides and the front by raised positions. Jiyyd's Command Headquarters is located on the eastern most cliff, accessed through a seperate gate near Jiyyd.

    Jiyyd itself has been baracaded off as best we can secure it. Our traditional southern gate and wall is now butressed with a tall, very thickly briared cliffs courtesy of Wolf. The old well is heavily blocked. The swamp entrance is iron gated, as is the well inside the batcave. A trail inside the Silver Valley is baracaded. The eastern road, out of Jiyyd, in the farmlands, forms our combined far eastern flank.

    We collapsed the worg caves, sealing them off with Wolf's aid, to deter an orcish assembly from this quarter. We have dug great pits, covered them with planks and sod, which will support people's weight but not giants, and we have also some other surprises out there, and a fire wielding catapult team standing by to discourage any separate giant excursions.

    Defensively we hold a wide, sweeping front. At Sam's Hill, we are still building, and are at our weakest. We should expect attacks from this quarter, if the enemy is smart.

    Colonel Dwin wishes to secure the area immediately in front of Norwick for an assault on the town, to retake it. We should look to securing back Norwick in steps, realizing that this first assault, on the highest available ground, will be very difficult.

    The first exploratory skirmishes have proven harsh, with hordes of bugbear and goblish archers on the hills holding the narrow approaches into Norwick.

    The ground here is very poor for us, as attackers.

    Unless some other solution in the way of aid from another quarter presents itself, we may need to think of other ways of approaching and cutting off these hills to take the entrance to the town.

    The enemy surely knows of the underdark methods of travel. This makes using the goblin caves to access the enemy rear tricky.

    I have a plan to unveil to you, worked out by Legion staff officers. It calls for careful preparation, a series of carefully timed battles, that, if successful, will give us back the intiative and leave us in a position to retake Norwick.

    After we look at these plans, I'd like to hear your thoughts and suggestions about the operation, before we close the meeting with some discussion of the enemies goals in this war."_

    *Lyte passes out some black binders with the words 'Operation Buttered Pancakes' in gold letters on the covers.

    She pauses while everyone reads the contents, whilst she eats an apple.*

    Operation Buttered Pancakes

    OBP is designed with a threefold purpose in mind.

    1.) To wrest away the initiative from the enemy, letting us choose the time and place of attacks.

    2.) To rescue the Featherlight women and children trapped and surrounded in Featherlight lands.

    3.) To cut off the forces guarding the gateway to Norwick from the balance of the enemy inside the town, and then destroy the guards quickly from front and rear, taking the hills and quickly baracading them from the enemy, before they can react.

    The Operation will be performed with a series of strikes, designed to keep the enemy off balance.

    1. A strong strike out from the Jiyyd western defenses towards the Featherlight camp, with Featherlight archer support. This extraction will be called "Lighting the Oven"

    Ostentiably, we will be rescuing the Featherlight women and children, with our force seeming to simply bring them back to our defenses with us, angering the orcs and giants, probably into a considerable assault upon our walls.

    We hope this might also pull some troops away from the southern Norwick area, towards Jiyyd.

    In fact, we will secretly leave a small but powerful troop of mostly our mages INSIDE the Featherlight Camp, with their warriors, and the warriors of the neighboring tribes who are already present.

    This is the force, combined Featherlight and strike force, will secretly make their way into the Norwick cemetary under cover, using a very secret trail, as the intial assault is ended.

    Reasonable defensive forces will be left at Jiyyd's western defense, and the rest will gather under Colonel Dwin to ready for what appears to be a reckless frontal assault on Norwick's hills.

    Colonel Dwin will ready a hidden force of engineers and builders behind his strike team, who will follow the warriors on a prearranged second signal.

    Signal number one, a flare, will alert the Featherlight troop that Dwin is setting off. Colonel Dwin's charge will be a feint, to draw out the close by guards of bugbear archers deep into the hills surrounding Norwick's gates.

    2. Colonel Dwin's assault will be code named "Heating the pan". He will try to inflict some casualties, then move his force to nearby cover.

    Upon seeing Colonel Dwin's flare, the secret troop inside the cemetery will move. The mages will cast elementals helpers, and cover the force with illusions that all appear to be orcish mages.

    Using this ruse and good magish orc language skills, Captain Genzir will lead his team brazenly into Norwick, under apparent Sharn orders to wipe out the stupid "humies and beardies" who are sending a silly little assault force against the hills.

    Their real purpose will be to get between the defenders out on the cliffs, and the gates accessing Norwick.

    3. Colonel Dwin will wait a specific, prearranged time, fire a second flare, and begin his second, true assault, code named "Pouring the batter", upon the now limited, cut off enemy, followed by his engineers and builders at some distance.

    The featherlight team, fronted with elementals and supported by wizards, will hold the gates, and kill whomever approaches from either direction, until the hill is taken.

    Barriers will be quickly erected, as the forces join together to hold the gate.

    Upon completion of the mission, the words "Buttered Pancakes Served" will be sent back to Headquarters to acknowledge a successful mission.

    Preparational work:

    1. Contact the featherlights to get their cooperation in this Operation.

    2. Perform an intelligence flyby to acertain the condition of forces in the Norwick cemetery, means of egress to the front gates and hills defending Norwick, and numbers and quality of troops obviously in the town.

    3. Seed the enemy troops wth rumors of new orc mage with elemental helpers. -(completed)

    4. Gather enough barracades on wagons for the job, (building more are needed), and finding volunteers to set up the defenses while the fighters hold.

    5. Gather equipment to help perpetrate the "orc mage" ruse.

    6. Have a plan for the featherlight evacuees.

    7. Ensure that all possible forces are available for the planned battles.

    This will be a tricky, dangerous undertaking.

    Surprise is not just hoped for…it is essential to success.

    This plan requires extreme precision in timing, and should be attempted soon, before the enemy has time to put into effect their next offensive operation.


  • Keira pads over to William and Genzir (and other scout commanders) in turn offering her expertise in scouting, if desired.

    // Usually available early evening EST - can be later by arrangement.