04.1 Betrayed!

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Carlton Blacks Mercenaries
Company members:-
Krachtig (Vervalsing Voorwerp de Meesten Krachtig) – Gnome Illusionist/Thief
Taran – Half Elf Fighter/Priest of Mannanan Mac Lir, cousin to Carinne and Galvish
Carinne Rhianne Talynnart – Half Elf Ranger/Mage, Cousin to Taran and Galvish
Galvish – Half Elf Fighter/Thief, Cousin to Taran and Carinne
Barrigan Stonebeak – Dwarf Fighter/Priest, Company Engineer.
Lanneus Tuard – Paladin of Manannan Mac Lir
Derek Summers – Squire to Taran.

News comes through of a Barelinian raid on the Slavers fortress town of Lomboko.  The army will march from the south, warships will blockade the port while our company are required to attack the slaver forces from the rear once the battle is engaged.  Our numbers are bolstered by another 8 recruits who are eager to join our veteran unit with the promise of good pay and excellent equipment and caring leadership.
We get hold of a ballista and some more mounts as well as other equipment to see us through the next couple of weeks and set sail in the Barelin Navy supplied transports, together with a frigate and our coastal patrol boat which proudly sports a flame throwing device courtesy of Barrigans ingenuity. We once again meet up with the Naval Gnome who has some supplies we had requested as well as words of advice about not trusting our allies.
We drop the horses off before reaching our destination, they will be transported by dimensional folding later.
We reach our campsite and settle in for a short wait.  Corinne scouts ahead where the army is and looks at the likely battlegrounds where the action will take place.  When she reports back we note the slaver men start out of their walled town, they don’t resemble and army consisting of groups of men, no doubt separate pirate and slaver bands uniting to defend themselves.
We follow at a distance and out of sight of the army and take up our position to their rear as they face our Barelin allies.  A worrying turn of events then take place, the Barelin army form up in columns and march off back the way they came, the Slavers army then turns about and looks our way.  About 1000 strong, we take an involuntary step back.  The enemy are still hundreds of yards away and we loose off volleys of arrows, bolts and spells killing over 100 of them before they get too close for comfort and we retreat.
We talk amongst ourselves as we gallop away to safety, the betrayal is obvious now and when our scout reports back that our ships are under attack from pirate vessels, the treachery of the Barelin Forces is written large.  Taran gets a sinking feeling in his stomach.  Apparently the coastal patrol boats flame thrower is most effective and although it could not save the transports, it does help the frigate to escape.
We regroup at a copse several miles down the coast and Kalan Ghent comes up with a strategy to face the pursuing army, consisting of disguised pits and walls of fire, we than await the enemy forces.
We have paced out our distances, knowing the ranges the bows can fire to and spells are effective at.  First the crossbowman let fly, then the archers, followed by spells with more arrows flying.  
This force was around 600 strong as it approached us, as they close to hand to hand combat and with a group of their soldiers falling into the pits, we estimate we have accounted for a nearly a third of their force.
The hand to hand fighting becomes brutal within minutes most of our troops are sporting wounds, enemy mages are evident in their ranks as fireballs and other spells are unleashed against us.  Kalan Ghent orders the crossbowmen to fall back and shortly after the spearmen to reform ranks further behind us, leaving himself, the new lieutenant and the warriors in the party to soak up the attacks from the more heavily equipped elite troops who have appeared before us.  A full retreat is ordered leaving Barrigan and Kalan Ghent holding off the foe, the dwarf being told to leave also which he only does as Kalans body is cleft in two from a mighty blow.
On the way back to another copse the Lieutenants injuries seem to have caught up with him as he is noted falling off his horse and we do not have time to scoop the body up.
Kalans sister is distraught on hearing of the demise of her brother.
We are now leaderless and Taran calls the other sergeants together for a discussion on what to do next.  After receiving some scouting reports it is decided to ambush the cavalry that are on our trail.   We dig spider holes and lay a false trail leading past the stand of trees where our artillery is concealed.
About fifty mounted men approach our position and Carinne and Krachtig loose lightning bolts at the line of cavalry and we emerge out of our holes to engage the enemy.  These troops have spellcasters and veteran fighters amongst their numbers, outmatching our infantry although both sides are whittled down to even numbers, especially with a wall of fire separating our crossbowmen from the combat.  The opposition are noted gulping down potions and attacking very robustly.  Taran is knocked down and his squire manages to finish off his attacker before he is held in place by an enemy priest, this spell also affects Barrigan and it is left to Galvish to beat down the last of their warriors before the two spellcasters try to flee.  They don’t get far as a healed dwarf chases them down and slays them.  Much looting is then undertaken.
On our journey from this area we are intercepted by Rebel cavalry who are trying to recover Kalans body.