Forgotten Valley (Location A)

[Max Dirks]

The forgotten valley is the grassy area on the far left hand side of the map. It is predominately flat. Since it is covered on both sides by mountains and forests, it is very hard to attack from the sides. However, these same defenses create a bottleneck (and therefore make escape difficult) if this location is directly assaulted.

This is Renjiro's starting position.

The tournament will begin when 6 threads have been posted in this subforum. Good luck!

[Renjiro]

“Sir! Sir! Wake up, sir!”

Jiro was lying on his back facing up into the beautiful afternoon sky. He had no clue where he was. The last thing he remembered was walking forth as his name was called by a tournament director. He had entered a strange tournament fought by massive armies. He had argued with the man who handled his registration that he had no army to enter with, but the man had reassured him that it did not matter.

Now, Jiro was in a gigantic field with a massive headache surrounded by an army. Three figures stood over him trying to arouse him. He recognized them immediately; although, he did not understand it. He knew that they were the generals of Hyra’s armies in the past because they looked just like he had imagined them, but they had been dead for many years. How could they be here now?

Slowly he sat up grasping his forehead. He was dizzy and disoriented from the magic that had brought him here. The generals huddled around him with concerned looks on their faces. “Are you all right, sir,” they all asked in unison. The young elf turned his head to look at all of them. The world seemed to be spinning around him in circles. Unable to stop himself, he tossed his lunch all over the largest of the three.

Mitsuho cursed and jumped backwards, puke dripping from his beard and down the front of his shirt. The other two generals did not turn to look at their peer, but kept their eyes pinned to their leader. “Sir,” the only female of the group said. Her voice was soft, almost song like. “Are you alright? Should I fetch the medical unit?” Both generals gripped Jiro trying to keep him steady.

“No,” Jiro said wiping the last of his vomit from his mouth, “no, I am fine. I’ll be fine. I think that got it out of my system. Just help me up.” His generals did not question him, but their worried faces did not fade either. They grabbed him by his upper arms and hoisted him onto his feat with one jerk. He wobbled a little at first but quickly found his balance.

Jiro brushed the pair away as they tried to grab him around his back as if he had broken foot. It was a lot to take in, all that had just happened. He looked to the man that he recognized as Hikaru, the legendary general of the shimmering star, as if expecting some kind of explanation for what had just happened. When no one told him what was happening he spoke, “Well, where am I, and what is going on? Where did y’all come from?”

“Um,” began Hikaru, but it was Mitsuho answered the question. “Why, you are on the battlefield of course. You entered your name into the tournament right? We are your men, summoned from your mind. We are here to serve you.” The man was beaming despite having just been vomited on. He had just pulled off his outer tunic and was wiping his beard of sickness. From his expression it seemed that he thought getting plastered with filth was some sort of funny practical joke.

“Sir,” Hikaru said loudly trying to cut back into the conversation, “we are currently in the middle of a large field, as you can tell. There is a forest east from here and fairly close and a large mountain blocking our south. With our current position, we could see any attack coming long before they reached out position. My men are well prepared for combat on an open battlefield, but I think it better to abandon our position and head into the forest. We are more familiar in wooded areas and would have a better advantage.”

“I concur, sir,” Hoshimi’s soft voice followed Hikaru’s lead, “my troops are more adept at fighting in skirmishes. We would have better odds if we could move into the forest.”

Mitsuho spoke up as well wishing to throw his own opinion in for consideration, “I think it would be best to take that mountain top if possible, sir. My men could hold a position like that for an eternity as long as we had enough supplies. The only problem is that we cannot see any accessible route to the mountain’s top yet, but if you allow me, I would like to take a scouting party and search for one.”

Jiro took a second to think about all this. It all seemed odd to him, having everyone turn to him for guidance, but he knew that he needed to act quickly, or he allow another army to take advantage of the prime strategic locations. And he had to act with certainty to keep the men from questioning his authority.

“I think,” Jiro said trying to sound firm, “that we should move into the forest. We cannot sit and wait to find out if we can use the mountain while our enemies take the forest from us. Send a few scouts if you like, but you stay with me. I want all my generals by my side for the time being. Hikaru’s men will take the front. Hoshimi’s men will cover our flank, and I want Mitsuho’s men to stay by my side. Archers, wizards, and medics should stay behind our infantry, of course. Tell your men to get ready. We move out immediately.”

“Sir,” Hikaru said hastily as the others left. Should I send my calvary ahead of us to secure the position?”

Jiro thought about it for a second before he answered, “No, I want to keep the horses fresh. We may need them later. Tell them to stay behind the infantry as well. Is that everything?”

“Yes sir!”

“Then let’s get to it.”

((OOC: Tabit Squadron is staying behind to scout the mountainous borders of the Forgotten Valley (Location A). All other soldiers are moving to the Middle Forest (Location B).))

[Bleater]

The Eyes and Ears Company have arrived from Mountain Top (Location D). Two men and three horses were lost on the route between Mountain Top and Forgotten Valley.

Droitangi, Falannkku 31, 1803 CP
Present Day - 1:03pm

The eight remaining men of the Eyes and Ears Company make their way into the Forgotten Valley, seven horses pacing at a slow walk by this point. An ominous sense fills the air as they come to a stop. The company commander is at the front of the pack, and a horse bearing two of the spies sets at the back.

"I feel like I should say something. I feel I owe all you men an apology. It was my decision to take us down that route, and if any of you have ill feelings towards me about it, I'll understand..." the ranking spy says.

Tragedy had befallen them on the road from the Mountain Top, less than an hour ago. They had chosen a thin ledge pass along the mountainside, one that they were forced to go single-file along. It was known that it was going to be dangerous, but it was the fastest route down the mountain. The men had grown wary on the trek down, each step of horse hooves sent the rock beneath groaning and dropping sediment below it. And then it had happened. A large section of rock had given out under the rear portion of the group. Two of the men and their horses plunged down the sheer rock face of the mountain, gravity and winds cruelly slapping them against the rocks again and again on the way down. They were certainly killed on impact; and if they weren't there would have been no way to get to them and save them anyway.

Still, a third had been caught in the collapse of the rock pathway, but had gotten free of his saddle and managed to catch some jutting, dried roots sticking out from the rock face. His horse plummetted below to the others, but he clung to the root, kicking his feet against sheer rock to try to hold on. The next two ahead of him dismounted quickly and braved going to the crumbled section, and helped pull him back up to the more stable section of the path. Two of their men and three of their horses, gone. The treacherous path had taken its toll.

"But, it is imperative that we maintain discipline and order. To respect those men who gave their lives, we must do as they would have done, and bring pride to their names. Now, if you men feel in any way unsure about my command, then speak up now. I'll appoint another of you to lead if need be. But I can't afford to risk you men hesitating to follow any orders or commands I offer in the field because of this. So, if there is a problem with my command, then speak up now."

He looks back and forth among the seven stern faces in front of him, each with eyes staring blankly ahead with twinges of sorrow. The men are like stone, and just as the earth itself, they stand firmly and silent. The commander nods approvingly.

"Good."

~~~~~

It is about twenty minutes later when they come across the main path and the remains of an encampment. Several of the men dismount their horse, leaning their faces close to the ground to examine markings in the dirt. On either side of the path, the valley walls rise in a soft, gentle green slope. While the valley is wide and flat and almost the entire area is visible to the naked eye, the edges- though not steep- they are high enough to block any attempts to see into the neighboring regional locations. Looking at the tracks carefully, one of the spies on the ground looks up to the company commander.

"It's a lot of men alright, no doubt a troop movement. Everything on the tracks is in even formations. It heads off down this way, southeast." He says, pointing along the road to Middle Forest. The commander nods sagely.

"No doubt it's the troops that we suspected our men have encountered and are engaging in the Middle Forest."

"Should we ride onto their flank, sir?"

Scowling, the drow shakes his head negatively.

"No, we still have some scouting to do, and it's far too risky. We'd literally have to go through them to rezendevous with our own forces. I propose we continue eastward. It'll take a while to steer the horses up the valley walls, but from their we'll have an overview of the Badlands, and can enter the Middle Forest through the north there, allowing us to avoid the enemy troops and safely travel back to our men."

The other men nod, taking mental notes of the scene and climbing atop their horses again. They all begin turning their horse and begin slowly making their way up the valley path.

Eyes and Ears Company moving to The Badlands (Location F)