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Post by Ladorak on May 1, 2009 10:38:30 GMT -5
((Doesn't mean you can't ever fix it....post isn't going anywhere after all. )) A sound that was familiar to Goodspeed suddenly erupted from outside of the walls. Artillery! They were opening up with a barrage! But.....why!? Wouldn't they at least be given a chance to surrender first?! But nevertheless here they were firing away, and it seemed Ferdinand was impatient to take this place. Strangely enough, very few shells actually landed in the city. The rodent could hear them whistling towards the walls and impacting at what sounded like the area around the gate. Smart! So Ferdinand was concentrating his firepower on the actual gate itself and leaving the rest of the walls alone. But to what purpose? Surely he couldn't be thinking of making an assault on the gate could he? That was the easiest place to defend.....it would be simpler for him to breach the walls...but then again maybe Ferdinand wanted this place intact for something. Masonry burst forth in clouds of dust and debris as the cannon balls struck the turrets of the gate house. Goodspeed had made sure to destroy the bridge over the river leading up to the gate, but he was sure that that would only delay Ferdinand for so long. The walls of the aging fortress were thick, but they were in poor repair. Scrambling to get to the gate, he shouted out at a nearby officer. "You there! Get as much bracing for the gate as you can! Make sure they don't breach it!" The confused looking mammal saluted and started running off. This whole place would be demoralized by the bombardment.....and Colonel Goodspeed was wondering if they would be able to hold out long enough on such low morale. The gatehouse of Dumont consisted of two round turrets jutting outwards and the gate in between, under an arch. "Shift troops to the gate! And start counter fire if you can!" he yelled out to bunch of beasts who were dodging about and trying to avoid getting hit by so far non-existent shot that wasn't even landing in the city yet. Idiots....panicking like that..... Goodspeed snorted, and went under the archway of the gate. From inside here he could hear the thudding of the solid shot as it struck the turrets and stonework around it. He predicted they could last maybe a few days at the very most like this, but that was probably wishful thinking on his part. Taking a staircase, two at a time, the rat huffed his way up to the top of the right side turret, taking ample cover behind the battlements. The cannons in Dumont began firing back now, roaring out from the walls but most shots landing short as it seemed much of Ferdinand's artillery was just out of range. A shot landed in the river below, sending up a geyser of water that splashed the sides of the walls, staining the tan stonework with a darker sort of gray. Blast it all....this would be a trial by fire for the fortress's garrison it seemed.....
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Post by bookity101 on May 2, 2009 22:16:46 GMT -5
Fredrick paced back and forth in his pavilion, mumbling to himself and drinking out of a simple silver cup in his paw. It was really to big to be of practical use, made of red velvets and nearly red satins, it would stand out like a sore paw if the generals hadn't insisted that the top be made of a dark green and brown cotton blend. He scowled, his shoulders tensing as he remembered how much he had to fight even bringing it. Shouldn't have happened, after all he was the King! They shouldn't even said anything about. Fredrick was a bit to... well he wasn't drunk...just tipsy, to the point that his judgment was slightly impaired.
He visible relaxed when he heard the barrage starting up. It would only a matter of time before his army got thru. His, yes that sounded nice. He motioned to his main servants to bring him more wine. "Yes, only a matter of time...."He said as he topped off his glass and raised his glass to him self, and his future success... *******
About 30 minutes later, Fredrick was getting impatient again, just waiting around for the battle to be won. Finally he decided to do something. In this case, like in most cases he decided to bug his cousin. Maybe talking to him would help him figure out what was going on out there. He rushed to the tent opening, filling his lungs to yell, when he realized that Ferdy would not be able to hear him. Quickly, he gestured to one of the younger servants that had come with him. Telling him to run get the General, and bring him back to the tent as fast as possible.
****
A few minutes later, Ty ran up to the General, yelling and tugging on his sleeve at the same time. "General General! His Majesty wants you to attend him in his pavilion!" He had to shout very loudly to be heard over the noise of the artillery.
((AUGH!, I don't like school!))
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Post by ninjasquirrel1 on May 6, 2009 19:40:13 GMT -5
Ferdinand shook the little thing of impatiently, what was it? Was it trying to tell him something? Frederick wanted him? Why should he attend His Majesty, what had he done except sit around and drink wine while he was commanding the attack?! No! He would not go, his cousin needed to work of some fat anyway. Giving the small creature a stare that would match any ghoul's freeze stare he spoke.
"Tell his majesty that I am busy commanding his army. He may come to me if he wishes to speak with me," turning towards the battle he signaled for the infantry Commander to attend him. As the Commander took a position at his side, Ferdinand addressed him.
"The gate will soon break at our constant cannon fire. I want the troops able to cross the moat before it breaks. Fill with sand bags, get a bunch of wagons on their sides. . . . I don't care! Just get across that moat! Have a dozen or so lines fire at the top of the walls to keep their heads down," he commanded a look a victory burning in his eyes. Yes, he would take this city. It would be the bridge into Rosferia. But what would he do with prisoners. . . .
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Post by bookity101 on May 6, 2009 22:26:44 GMT -5
((ooo, Ferdy touchy )) Ty gulped as the General shook him off. He had his orders, so he trudged his way back to the pavilion, wishing that the General had come back with him. Moments later he entered the opulent tent. Fredrrick looked up from his map of Rosferia that he had spread on the main table, his ever present wine glass in his paw, though this time it held coffee, he had been intending to ask Ferdy about what he intended to do about shoring up the walls. They needed work in some places so bad even a nearly drunk king could tell that they needed work. He looked up as Ty entered, "Ty, shut that drape, the sunlight is making my eyes hurt." He said shielding his eye's from the glare. After the drape was re-hung across the opening, he looked up at Ty, noticing for the first time that his cousin wasn't with him. "Ty, what happened? WHere is General Ferdinand?" Ty swallowed... hard, and answered his King's question, his voicing cracking slightly as he did, "Majesty, the General sends his respects, but they are getting ready to breach the walls, and he couldn't be spared at the front right at this moment, he said if you really needed to talk, that you.. you should..." Ty stopped, not wanting to go one. Fredrick waved an impatient paw at him, "Yes Ty, go on." He sighed drooping his shoulders a bit. "He said that you will have to go to him, sire." Ty had been expecting an outraged burst from his king, which is exactly what he would have gotten if Fredrick hadn't gotten a few cups of coffee into his system before he had returned. Instead, Fredrick stayed quiet, then nodded, "very well then Ty, I will go to him." He said, a sly gleam coming to his eye. Every servant in the room nearly jumped in suprise, even when their king was sober, he very rarely took to beasts questioning his authority as commander-in-chief of Gradvar. He gazed wryly around the room, "What, did you think that I would just send out more servants, and maybe a guard or two, to go fetch him?" Makon, the oldest servant there, nodded his head slightly, he had been working with this king sense Fredrick was a kit. He saw what was going on and set off to do what he knew would be his Master's bidding, which was folding up a couple of stools and having one of the guards grab the table. Fredrick nodded at Makon, knowing that the old beast had read his mind. He swept towards the door, coffee cup in hand. He stopped by the confused youngster, whispering Ty's ear as he did, "Come now, if he won't come here and let me bug him, I'll go there, and still be able bug him." He grinned and winked at the lad, then swept outside after the guard who carried the table with a swirl of his simple cloack.. if you could call purple silk with gold filigree simple that is... A little later, he was seated behind a small embankment, drinking another glass of coffee, while Ty went to get Ferdy again, this time with a slightly different message for him. Once again Ty had to tug on the Generals sleeve and shout, "My lord! My lord! The King requests your presence, and any other commander that can be spared, to join him at the main embankment!" As he said it, he also pointed to where Fredrick sat waiting for Ferdy, then stepped back, hoping that the General would come this time.
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Post by Ladorak on May 7, 2009 11:17:37 GMT -5
((OOC: I WAS gonna have the gate give way but...this is a bit fun to watch now isn't it? I think I'll have it hold out a bit more before moving on. )) The fire was gaining a steady rhythm now. The Gradvar artillery barrage was right on....accurate and telling. The turrets of the gatehouse were reverberating with concussions as the shot struck repeatedly over and over against the rounded stone sides. Fortunately though....from what Goodspeed could tell, the gate itself had not been hit at all yet. It was tricky getting a shot to actually strike it as it wasn't the largest thing to shoot at, and the turrets partly shielded it due to their construction by being rounded out and forming a sort of recess for the wooden gate. Dust was starting to coagulate over the walls of Dumont, making the ineffective counter fire from the town even less so by obscuring the gunners' sight. Their fire was mostly wild and not in the least bit accurate, and they weren't able to must more than a token show of on shot per every two minutes as it was. Goodspeed was trying to think of a strategy...something....ANYTHING to use against the might of the Gradvar forces. He was turning several things over in his mind when one of the municipal officers of the city ran onto the top of the turret from behind him, and began tugging on his arm to get his attention. The rat turned to see....the mayor of Dumont he thought it was, but he couldn't be sure. "We have to surrender!" the terrified officer was blabbering. "We've all outvoted you! It's unanimous! I want to surrender my city to prevent the loss of lives! They won't treat us poorly, we already know that! They're just here to restore King Augustine after all...I say we let them!" Goodspeed thrust his snout into the mayor's face, his pink nose only inches away from the officer's eyes. "No.....even if that's true.....we can't just let them do that. They declared war on us and we will defend this nation. How much do you really trust King Frederick and Gradvar? I'm willing to bet that once this city surrenders he'll take this place in the name of Gradvar and not Rosferia! Use your brain Mr. Mayor...." "My brain! You are an aristocratic noble! How can you even support this revolution! You'll lose your status and your title if the King is not reinstated upon his throne, don't you realize that?" the mayor was a mouse, and a jittery one at that. "That may be true but unlike many of the other nobles, I am not a traitor to my country. The King is still safe, and is still alive, and does have a voice in the government along with the Assembly. I may not agree with the Assembly's methods of governing this nation but that is not my responsibility right now! Right now my responsibility is that Gradvar army sitting just across the river! Now..." but he was cut off by the fellow rodent. "No! We already voted to surrender! You've been overruled!" he shrieked. "Mr. Mayor.....I am the garrison commander here and my troops follow my orders not some civilian wanting to play soldier!" he quickly drew his pistol from his coat, leveling it at the mayor's chest. "Back off Mr. Mayor! This is not your decision to make!" he roared to be heard over the din of the cannon. The mouse's eyes grew wide, but he still squeaked in defiance. "You...you'll regret this!" he said, turning away and heading back downstairs. "That's better." Goodspeed put his flintlock away and turned to see what the enemy was doing. From the looks of things it looked as if they were in the process of trying to build some sort of makeshift bridge across the river. Well that would take them awhile by just piling sand bags up. The current was swift but probably couldn't get rid of the bags. It would take a lot though....so he still had time. Turning about, he started to head for the stairs, intending to inform his adjutant to tell the guns to begin targeting the bridge crew if they could, though with this smoke he wasn't sure they'd do much good. He wasn't sure anything about this city would do much good for long....as much as he hated to admit it the mayor was probably right. Surrender would be the only option.....but no.....Goodspeed would not suffer that stigma to his name. He would resist as long as he was able to without sacrificing his garrison.....
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Post by ninjasquirrel1 on May 11, 2009 11:10:41 GMT -5
Ferdinand saw the small . . . thing approaching him out of the corner of his eye. He would not be bothered, if his majesty wanted to talk to him he could work some fat off walking the ten feet. As the creature reach for his sleeve, Ferdinand raised his arm looking through a telescope. As the creature spoke, out of good karma a canon shot fired drowning out his pleas. To avoid further contact with the . . . thing, Ferdinand began to walk down the hill towards the artillery position. . . .
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Post by Ladorak on May 12, 2009 9:57:03 GMT -5
((Love the dynamic you two managed to work up heheh. I think I'll end this battle here though so we can pave the way for actualy head-to-head warfare. I'll dish out points here too now that the battle is ending. ) At that moment however a lucky shot thudded against the gate.....then another....and another...splintering and fracturing it and causing the wood to buckle and give. The Colonel could hear it very well from his vantage point. "No!" he called out. "Shore up the gate!" He yelled down the stairs. "Hurry! They'll break through any...." But he was cut off by the final, sickening crash of shattering wood as the gate gave way. It was blown in backwards, sending deadly splinters out and into the town. Goodspeed knew that the end was in sight. But...they had not yet bridged the river. If he could preven them from crossing it..... He ran over to the parapet, shouting down at some of the artillery beasts on the wall below him. "Hey! Reposition some cannon into the gate house! Take that makeshift bridge under fire!" he called down to them. This was fortress defense....a tricky game....but one he intended on dragging out for as long as possible. But a sudden commotion behind him caused him to turn. "How did...." he demanded, trailing off as he faced five or six armed townsbeasts....most of the municipal officers it seemed were gathered in force and had pushed their way up the tower past his guards. "We told you!" the mayor hissed. "We want to surrender! The gate just caved in! There's no hope for us!" "You cowards!" Goodspeed cried, drawing his pistol but not raising it as about six muskets were leveled at him. "You can't do this! Surrender is shame! I will NOT lower this city's flag! It's the last defensive post between the border and Cosnair! This is inexcusable!" "But we'll get fair treatment if we surrender....all they want is the restoration of the King after all. You must grant us this...." the mayor and his group began advancing, and Goodspeed was forced to back up against the very parapet above the river. "You fools! We don't know what they'll do once they reach our capital! It's too risky!" he saw he had nowhere to go though. One of the hammers on a musket was cocked back, the cold, dead click ringing in his large ears right after a cannon boomed. No...he would not surrender to Gradvar! He would not be taken prisoner.....not him....not Nicholas Goodspeed! A great despair welled up inside his stomach. He felt physically sick.....but he knew what he had to do. Leaning back a bit over the edge of the tower, he glanced briefly down at the river below. Yes.....one chance....and one chance only. Turning back to face the gathered mob he came up to standing erect, and with a salute at his nation's flag he snapped his pistol up and under his own chin. "No...Nick....don't...!" the mayor cried out, but it was too late. The ball exploded out of the barrel and cut through the rat's jaw and into his head, splattering some gore out the back of his skull and causing his body to fall backwards.....off the tower and down.....down into the river below. He landed with a splash, the current taking hold of his now lifeless body and beginning to carry it downstream...away from the battle....and away from his one and only defeat..... For a moment all the gathered beasts could do was stare over the side of the turret. "Hurry...lower the flag....capitulate." the mayor mouse murmured, covering his mouth and turning away from the gathered Gradvar Army, disgusted with it all...... Final Result: GRADVAR VICTORY
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