Quoted By:
it is long, thirsty, hard work, to fight fires, alleviate raiding, and try to raise some semblance of local order.
And the snapping jaws are closing in. Across the smoke stained horizon, the churned mud, the burning estates, here they ride.
We've already lost horses and men to these damnable pittraps all over these fields, to the sparks, to the sword, to the flame and smoke and confusion.
Sacerdotessa begs a boon and a line of sunlight carves through a patch of grass, flames roil, a thrust of Wasponi outriders is foiled from riding down a retreating gaggle of aspirants. Perhaps the Empyreal is watching. Or perhaps the fire was always going to burn that way? Everything else around here is, although, at least now, the fire burns westward.
An outrider, looking faintly embarassed without his horse and halting from a tremendously bad fall, tears streaking his ash-stained face from having to end the suffering of his mangled mount, reports that the enemy appears to outnumber us ten to one, locally.
There are militia fighting them, household guards, and the pit-traps and defensive some deranged madman orchestrated across the fields are slowing them down.
But they also appear to be surrounding us. Is it time for the Death Song? It would be a commendable thing, he thinks, to steal death from life on a day like this. The sun is high.
Or perhaps we seek shelter in one of these estates? Some of the people here have done that. And some of the miltia are brave enough, the few of them that are not dead.
--
In the distance, against the afternoon sun, a bright green flare bursts into existence, lingering like a second star high above.
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>Command and control has utterly collapsed. No force disposition updates.
>Commandand control has utterly collapsed. No Affiliation actions possible.
>Command and control has utterly collapsed. Morale is breaking along the entire line.
>We have multiple hard contacts across the north and western fronts, we have confused reports of casualties, wounded, dead, dying, a new toll scheme in the local area and the total ruination by fire of this years apple harvest - wait, no, we might still have some apples remaining?
>The Cohort, what remains of it, reports it's mobilised fully and is ready to advance. W-where? S-sir?
>Command and control has utterly collapsed. Officer positions are *locked*. Commands are *local courier only*, or back to the Cohort and then we hope they get where they need to be. You may need to move or with or advance as part of your action.
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>Officers may take 1 personal action.
>Command control has utterly collapsed. Officers Perennis, Regulus and Publius action are resolved with a random time function at some point in the proceedings - coordination is difficult in the extreme in this situation, so relying on them being somewhere for someone else to reach is going to be fraught.
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