Iceflow Garrison commander Sir Stoutheart Purple had something to prove his older sister had been outshining him in martial prowess and grown in reputation; after an ill-judged drunken brawl defending a friend, he had been reassigned here, but it now looked rather than a backwater posting this was a frontline position and a chance to make his name. His sleep was interrupted at 10.45pm when the Rune Wards went off. The first thing that went through his head was to recall the tides in case it became important, high tide was due at about 11pm and low tide would be around 6am today, the same time as sun up, he thought.
By 10.50pm he was sitting in his enchanted war room gazing at the scrying map table of their local vicinity, flanked by the 5 High Elf advisors, four scribes and a team of Page runners. They had enough warning to be ready, but seeing the scale of the threat appearing on the edge of the map seemingly without end went from concerning to daunting in short order. Even now, the High Elf Arch Cleric was sitting meditating, focused on countering attacking and defending the Keep. The other advisors were, by profession the green leather armour clad High Elf Champion Archer, the dark robed High Elf Archmagus, the blackclad and veiled High Elf Assassin and white armoured High Elf Paladin. The war room was above the inner South gate house near the Sally Port that was the South gate. This was near where the front line would most likely be if they needed to plan to counter a breach of the Keep.
He lamented the loss of HMS The Fire of Fecundity and HMS Pride of the Grey Isle but was proud they safely retreated to fight another day and made sure to note that the retreat was gallantly covered by HMS The Fire of Fecundity. At 11.30pm he heard the Horn blast from Earl Bloodburn, indicating that both flanking forces that had till then blocked the way between the keep and the cliff on either side would wheel back away from the far side of the cliff and keep going at speed till the opposite wings had rotated to meet each other forming a triangle against the back of the keep protected from artillery by the keep itself but letting the enemy through beyond the Keep. He had hoped they would hold the main line of defence for longer. He got a report that the Shamanic-looking Orc Warleader had summoned a shadow bolt and destroyed the Golem that had been in front protecting Earl Bloodburn. Despite attempts to outflank the manoeuvre, the Rangers archery had prevented the enemy action. So the South Gate had a semicircle of Defenders holding the horde back, with the Rangers taking the wounded and retreating into the keep to resupply and take vantage points to rain death upon the Icekin Alliance.
Most of the light infantry Goblin army took the opportunity to run up the flanks and into the Kingdom of Fecundity with plans to pillage and raid ahead of the main Army only within 30 minutes to hit the encircling light cavalry and be forced back or be slaughtered as the manoeuvrable and faster light calvary was the perfect counter to the Goblins
While the Ice Elves exchange arrows with the defenders, and their magic user attack the keep with magical artillery, this is a war of attrition. The High Elf Assassin notices the Ice Elves are wearing fingerless gloves and offers the High Elf Champion Archer poison to coat all of his arrows so if the Ice Elves try to return them; they will be struck down. He also offers The Champion the antidote which will last 24 hours but takes two hours to become effective; the Champion takes the antidote and waits while applying it with a gloved hand to cases and cases of arrows.
Sir Stoutheart Purple orders the stable wounded onto wagons and to be sent back to Big Bear City via the underground Dwarven expressway, and all wagons stored in the cellar area to be lined up and readied for departure for further wounded or a retreat order should they become necessary.
By midnight Chillblood has successfully deployed his ritual Shadow Beacon, which forms beyond the shoreline at Iceflow Keep, and the temperature drops a few degrees. It summons the third wave and Sceaða ColdDrake, The Ice Wyrm, who will freeze the way for all the Horde to cross; by his reckoning, they should arrive by around 9am, his orders are to make the bridgehead and hold it until they arrive, and that is exactly what he intends to do.
About 12.30am the complete destruction of the top section of the far left flanking Tower shakes the defenders of the Keep. This was a surprise from the Orc Shaman Warleader, who had struck again, shearing the top clean off the tower with a shadow bolt. The war of attrition against the Berserkers who wields soulfire has gone badly for the werewolves, and with just 100 remaining, the Werewolves pull back to regroup and consult their Warleader.
At 12.45am The arrival of the Light Cavalry, they form up and give relief to the defenders by harassing the Orcs in hit and run attacks
Around 1am, 80 additional rangers arrive and break through the lines as they are escorted home by the light cavalry and the cheering defenders make extra efforts to guide them in safe much to the consternation of the surrounding Orcs.
1.15am heralds the arrival of the Heavy Cavalry; they formed up a distance away as their officer looked for where they might do most good and then charged into the fray, riding down Orcs and Goblins alike.
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Disaster strikes at 1.30am with the destruction of the great Catapult of Iceflow Keep, as Chillblood takes aim and blasts through the wall to just below the crenelations and takes out the main workings of the catapult and some of the defenders in one large blast of a shadowbolt. While the remaining 100 werewolves climb the far left flanking Tower, the defenders from the Keep and the other flanking Tower use silver arrows, which kill a good number going up. The werewolves frenzied race up and then over the top and leap at the 19 outnumbered defenders, all wielding the blessed silversteel halberds, which were already deployed in the Tower, braced by a foot held with their non-dominate hand facing out at 45% ready to be guided into the first leaping werewolf and with the main hand holding blessed silversteel shortsword ready to strike again and the twentieth mage levitated the ballista and ballista bolts separating them and lifting the bolts higher and further away over enemy positions and added feather fall to the ballista when it was dropped to float down through the air to the Keep roof below. As the mage dies with the claws of a werewolf through his chest, the enchanted ballista bolts fall and deal massive damage to the horde below. The defenders impale the first lot of werewolves on their halberds; a few impale two before discarding the halberd, and a third are able to remove the halberd and catch another werewolf, while shortswords bite all the time the blessed silversteel wounds burn and consume the werewolves, while the werewolves do in the end totally overwhelm the defenders with tooth and claw tearing everything apart and drenching the tower top in blood, but only 7 werewolves remain The Paladin as soon as he heard led Men at Arms to reinforce the Tower all armed with blessed silversteel shortswords, they fight up the stairs, and one by one slay the werewolves with Holy fire burning any werewolf who gets to close to the Paladin, and they manage to retake the Tower after a long drawn out series of duals.
At 2am the thundering arrival of Ur'sid atop the Direbear who charges into battle with Ur'sid swinging Orcslayer into the Orcs, which lives up to it's name this day, and the Archmagus disguised as a forest elf mage and Archer Chmpion take the far left tower top, and make a nuisance of themselves trying to provoke Chillblood to attack them when next he decides to unleash a shadow bolt.
Angrily at 2.30am Chillblood decides to deal with the problematic Green Elf Mage and sends a shadowbolt at him, which is counter by sunstrike from the Archmagus and they are locked in a dual across the battlefield for hours with neither one backing down, while the High Elf Champion Archer fires volley after volley on the Artillery and spell casters of the Icekin Alliance.
A sneak attack at 3am with the tide still going out, and all the forces of the Icekin Alliance have unloaded, leaving many of the canoes to be washed out to sea, as they have no returns to need them again. Rear attack by the submerged Golems, they engage the 10 Ice Troll Bodyguards of the Shamen, and then they tear through the Orc Shamen and into the Balistas and Catapults; they destroy all the Icekin artillery before they are overcome by the remaining Shamen and regenerating Ice Trolls.
At 3.45am 170 Rangers arrive through the Dwarven Expressway and make their way to vantage points to engage the enemy.
On schedule at 4am the route marched 1000 legionnaires formed a square and moved to the South gate despite resistance by the Orcs who were determined to stop a repeat of a break through their lines; though slowly and with determination, the Legionnaires broke through, and Ur'sid ordered them to manoeuvre to take over the defence of the South Gate, and he requests that Earl Bloodburn and the Shieldmaidens and Berzerkers retreat inside the keep to relieve themselves and eat for an hour before returning for battle a little reluctantly they accept as they know this might be a long day.
Help arrives at 5am Ur'sid's other support troops arrived at the Keep to augment the Defender 20 mages, 20 clerics and 150 archers, each loaded down with 4 extra arrow quivers each that they started to put to good use at once; the Berzerkers and Shieldmaidens refreshed retake the field in support of the Legionnaires led by Earl Bloodburn who looks refreshed.
Shortly after 6am the Archmagus succeeds in burning Chillblood left side and forcing him to take shelter to recover; with the Archmagus's help, the Keep is relatively safe despite the Horde of Icekin assaulting from all sides.
Sunrise at 7am and the Warden arrives in view of the destruction around Iceflow Keep with the vanguard of the main Army; he starts ordering deployment in the field as the rest of the Army continues to arrive, having been ordered to jog the whole way. He decides the safest way to relieve the Keep is to do so in force when the Army is fully deployed.
At 7.30am all attacks on Iceflow Keep cease, and the Icekin alliance pull back to a safer distance; Sir Stoutheart Purple orders a ceasefire while he waits to find out what happens next.
By 8am The Army of the Kingdom of Fecundity is deployed and equipped, and before they act, an Ice Troll approaches with a white flag of truce to parley.