City Raid - Madbeard Strikes From the Sea!

CITY RAID

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Madbeard stroked fingered his pistol as he stroked his foot long beard. He was a stout and powerful dwarf a good head above others of his kind. There was a familiar shout as his cabin boy Jim ran up.

"Captain. The port is in sight."

Madbeard gave a toothy grin. It had been some time since they had found an easy port to plunder, least of all since that had entered the foul seas of Lustria. Pickings were slim in these parts. He had heard rumors that a small settlement had been established but rumors were as common as water on the high seas. Madbeard gave the cabin boy a kick and fired his pistol into the air.

"Avast mates! Prep the crews. We're gettin us some plunder!" Madbeard shouted. The crew gave a roar of approval as they hurried about preparing landing boats and grabbing weapons. The ships following his flagship raised their flags just as the port of Tameria came into view.

It wasn't a beautiful town but it looked perfect. The port was in shambles, the dwelling near the dock were run down, there were no defenses of any kind. He was used to places without law. Without an organized protective force these people would surrender quickly and he would be on his way with fresh supplies and all their wealth. There were only two ships in port and they were small and looked in poor condition. Both appeared to be merchant ships. It was clear they were not prepared for battle. Madbeard scowled. It was actually almost insulting. Had they not heard of the dreaded Madbeard the pirate? If they had they surely would have at least tried to muster a defence. Oh well they would learn soon enough.

Madbeard squinted with his one good eye at the port and turned to the cabin-boy. "Are we in range lad?"

Jim nodded. "We are just entering cannon range now captain."

Madbeard laughed heartily. "Good. Fetch me a beer. And fire the damn cannons while you're down there! Let's let these land lubbers know we mean buiseness!"

*Out of Character - How it works *

The city raid progresses with or without player participation. I will arrange the battlefield and tell the players where they enter. This battlefield will be laid out as such. I will post the enemies actions once per day at approximately the same time. Anytime between then any players who have arrived are allowed to take action.

Water	Water	Docks	Docks	Town	City Proper

Players may enter from either the town zone or city proper zone whenever they respond to join the attack. All that is required to join the city raid is to post a reply in this thread. The raiders will move forward and attack guards and players they encounter. They may raid the town or city instead of attacking players. If the raiders reach city proper they begin to deal damage to the city itself which is very bad. Building upgrades get reduced and other nasty things could occur.

The port was quiet, no ships were sailing in or out, not that it was unusual. Few ships dared to sail these waters and not with any frequency. Several of the dockworkers were out lazily moving cargo around as the first of several ships came into view.

The black flag with a symbol of a skull with a large red beard came into view as the first shot rang out. The cannonball streaked across the air before slamming into one of the storehouses. People screamed as they were showered with debris running for cover. Several of the offduty guards grabbed their swords and ran to the end of the docks. One man, clearly a sergeant drew his blade and began shouting orders. "Rally the men! We're under seige. Anyone who can wield a sword must fight with us!"

Several smaller boats were launched from the flagship full of men slowly rowing towards the town. The battle had begun.

]

Water	Water	Docks	Docks	Town	City Proper
Flagship Dingy Dingy Dingy
			Guard Captain Guard

Let the battle begin.

Paelic was walking down the street when he heard the first shot ring out. It was far too loud to be anything short a small cannon. The noise had come from the docks. Paelic was alarmed. To his knowledge nobody in Tameria actually possessed cannons. Which meant they were either a new shipment that someone was testing or something far more sinister. Running down the crowded street he made his way towards the dock. As he got closer he could hear the screams of people as more shots rang out. Turning the corner he saw a horrifying sight. The docks were scattered with debris, several buildings had collapsed and people were lying dead in the street or fleeing. Several men hid behind what cover they could find blades drawn. The water was becoming filled with small boats filled with men and dwarfs armed and ready for battle. Paelic scowled drawing his blade. He was not going to die here without a fight.


*Paelic enters the fight from the town zone*

Seros was in the midst of cracking open a particularly troublesome sea creature for his lunch when one of his crewmen burst into his office with the news that pirates appeared to be attacking the docks.

"My docks?" Seros replied, casting aside the fatally wounded crustacean. and rising angrily to his feet. Thousands of greenskins and Changer-knows-what waiting just outside the city walls, and this attack comes from the sea? Aside from the obvious danger of his ship being destroyed, his men being killed, and his cargo being stolen, any attack on the docks would bring guards into the district, and Seros had been trying quite hard to keep the guard presence to an absolute minimum.

There was little choice in the matter, really. "Tell everyone to grab a sword and start hurting people. And tell them that if some guards get lost in the battle, they won't be missed." The lookout nodded, looking somewhat terrified. "Now, get out of my way. I have pirates to kill."

Seros leaves his ship and joins the battle.

"Yer command, Thief-lord?" Shouted Thron as he turned his head back a little to look at the cowled Maelkur as the two looked out from one of the higher buildings in the Lower City to see the plumes of smoke and fire rising from the docks. The sounds of the cannons had resonated throughout the city and had drawn many of the entrenched powers to their senses and weapons. "S'only the docks. They say thas the Chaos-man's territory."

"I know this Chaos man, he and I have exchanged words on occasion." Replied Maelkur quietly, his words bringing about a surprised expression from Thron as he revealed that he'd already been in contact with the master of the docks. Especially since Thron had no idea it had happened. "I will join the battle personally. Find Kedakai and rally our forces to make an assault on the Rashief guildhouse in the midst of the chaos; they will be distracted and weak."

"..Are ye sure thas' wise, Thief-lord?

Without responding, Maelkur fixed Thron with a hard stare that replied just as harshly as if Maelkur had struck the lieutenant. Such looks were of extreme rarity and despite the fact that Thron could count on one hand the amount of times that he had received one from the Thief-lord, each one was burned into his memory as a constant nightmare. There was something about that stare that hinted at Maelkur's true nature though Thron didn't realize that nor did he understand why that brief glance into Maelkur's unholy side frighten him so.

"... will tha' be all?" Replied Thron sheepishly as he looked back out towards the city but even as he asked the question he knew he wouldn't receive a response from his master. He had his orders and Maelkur was likely already gone from where he'd stood behind him. Thron's assumption was correct as just as soon as the dwarf's eyes had left him, the vampire-elf had faded from view and disappeared into the winds of magic-- using his magical prowess to transport him to the battle. Sliding his newly acquired curved swords from their poison-coated sheathes, Maelkur prepared himself for battle. He couldn't use his magic much here for fear of being discovered but his blades would suffice.

[Entering Battle from City Proper. Dark Venom on MH (Hand Weapon), Black Lotus [WS/S] on OH (Balanced Hand Weapon).]

Teheboq watched as the small boats made their way towards the docks. His body hadn't felt right since his run-in with the Skaven assassins. Teheboq's thoughts turned to poison, but he knew of none that would cause similar symptoms. His ribs still ached from being trample, but he knew what he had to do. Wearily Teheboq grabbed his spear and made his way towards the docks.

*Teheboq enter from town zone with black lotus poison(Ws, S) on his spear.*