Falco's Reign - Part 65

From the diary of Duke Duncan Bhaltair

July 4 1304 AoR: Argyle has given me a total of six companies to join the siege of Brugar. It’s still a rather limited number of men, compared to the 5000 ‘traitor militia’ and the 5000 Erin warriors that are already there, but my brother considers it sufficient to stake a claim on at least part of the city once the war is over. We’ll see, I guess.
July 13 1304 AoR: Argyle may have been more right than he thought. 10000 men may sound impressive, until you realize most of them are militia of questionable quality. This is particularly so for the ‘traitor troops’ of Sorenson and Linson. I bet only about a thousand of them are of regular army quality, more precisely the retinues of Baron Linson and Sorenson’s oldest son, who leads his father’s contingent. I was however surprised to see that the same goes for the Erin warriors. At least half of them are soldiers from Erin lords and not regular troops at all. So I guess my 3000 trained, regular warriors will make more of a difference after all.
July 22 1304 AoR: It is infuriating to see the Erin general has little taste for a more active approach to this siege. He seems content to just wait until the city commander surrenders. That may take some time. The man clearly lacks ambition. On the other hand, he may be all too aware of the quality of his troops. And it has to be said, Argyle’s own attempts at taking Grimkeep haven’t exactly been successful either. I have written Argyle to send me more troops so I can force the issue myself.
July 25 1304 AoR: Be careful what you wish for. Argyle sent me reinforcements alright. That psychopath Coronado and his band of sadistic rapists. He has even given Coronado special orders so he can operate independently, whenever he wants to. And boy, does he want to! He has tortured captured commoners from the countryside in view of the city walls. He has also announced he will continue to do so every day until the city surrenders. He catapults the heads of those who succumb to his torture over the walls! I’m not sure how long I can continue to tolerate this. I’ve written Argyle and demanded that he rescind his special orders. I hope he does so before I can no longer contain myself and take matters into my hands.
August 1 1304 AoR: I have stopped Coronado’s rampage. When he started flaying people alive in front of the city walls, he finally crossed the line. He waved the paper with his special authority in my face when I came to stop him, but I snatched it out of his hands and ripped it to pieces. I have confined him and his men to their camp.
August 11 1304 AoR: Horrific news has reached us today. I tried to keep it contained but failed miserably at it. The whole camp is in an uproar. Maud’s main force has been annihilated. Not only that, her troops laying siege at Ronjar are rumored to have been destroyed as well! We seem to have seriously underestimated that lad. There’s no telling what his next target will be, but sooner or later he will be coming for us. We need a meeting of the most senior commanders to coordinate our response. I’ve written Argyle to urge him to organize this immediately.
August 12 1304 AoR: Argyle has refused my request. He heard about my actions against Coronado and apparently that made him so angry he’s not thinking clearly anymore. He even ordered me to not only release Coronado again, but also to give him command over my army. I am ignoring that order. Unrest is on the rise among the troops of the traitor barons and Erin. The warriors of the traitor barons and not a few of their officers think they should return home to defend Woodburg and Kalhan. The Erin general had refused every request or suggestion to that end. he wants to stay put until he has heard from Maud or any other member of her Council. I guess he doesn’t know what to do either.
August 13 1304 AoR: I don’t think things can get much worse. It has been confirmed that Maud is in Falco’s hands. Depending on what version of the story you believe, she was dragged naked through Ronjar and in front of her own troops by those weird wolf warriors and that hybrid pet girl of Falco or she performed an ancient ritual, aimed at simultaneously surrendering herself and soothing the gods. The Erin general almost panicked in front of his troops at the news, but some of his senior captains managed to calm him down. Needless to say, morale of the Erin troops is at an all time low. It’s even worse at the traitor barons. Their men have been deserting in growing numbers lately.
August 14 1304: Woodburg has fallen on the 12th. Or, to be more precise, it has surrendered without a fight. Young Falco has given a rather smart speech, promising mercy and amnesty for every soldier of Linson and Sorenson who lays down his weapons. Needless to say, as soon as the men heard this news, desertions have increased dramatically. The army is simply melting away. I have no doubt what Falco’s next steps will be. First Kalhan, then … us. I sent an emergency message to Argyle. Either he sends me massive reinforcements or even better, he comes himself, or in a few days, I will have no other choice but to retreat and abandon the siege.
August 15 1304 AoR: Sorenson’s son has asked me for protection. He no longer trusts his own officers. I have agreed but of course, whatever loyalty or respect was still left among his men, is now gone. I have no doubt something similar is happening at Linson’s camp.
August 17 1304 AoR: A messenger has arrived at Erin’s camp this morning. I heard it’s an officer who was captured at the Battle of Orcfang Peek. In the afternoon, the Erin army started to break camp. The only thing they were willing to tell me, was that jarl Maud has surrendered and Erin was no longer at war with Vestfjor. The bastards will simply leave us here! The siege has become untenable. By now, the defenders probably outnumber us. Argyle has not sent me a single soldier.
August 19 1304 AoR: Jarl Falco has taken Kalhan yesterday. As far as we heard, there was a desperate attempt of the family and some loyal warriors to put up a defense, but as soon as Falco’s army charged the city, the population revolted as well. It was all over in a few hours.
August 23 1304 AoR: Baron Linson is dead. We’re not quite sure what happened. He was killed during a very chaotic meeting with his officers in his tent. Apparently a fight broke out between him and the officers who are related to him on one side and the other officers on the other side. His army, if you can call it that, has completely fallen apart. Most are marching home, hoping Falco will keep his promise and not punish them. The remaining members of House Linson are running for … I don’t know where they are running to. But they certainly aren’t staying here. And neither am I. We will leave this night, before the commander of Brugar decides to leave his city and come for us. Any remaining soldiers of Sorenson and Linson that are left, are welcome to join me. Coronado and his maniacs can find their own way to safety.
August 24 1304 AoR: We have had to fight our way out. The Brugar commander acted faster than I anticipated and mounted a night raid at the same time we were getting ready to leave. It was a tough fight, but we held our own. That bastard Coronado didn’t bother to help us. He made use of the confusion to make a run for it. We managed to push back Brugar’s attack and immediately left for Grimkeep. My scouts tell me Falco’s army is less than a day away from Brugar. If he wasn’t my enemy, I would say that I was starting to like the kid. This bloody war has been one huge mistake.