\--==Official Submission==-- FROM: General Debinani Rahl RE: Chronicle Two - The March on Yew The March on Yew It was winter when we found ourselves in the employ of Lord Daithomir, a minor noble who had made his home in a small keep north of the mountains. He had paid us extravagantly to march into Yew, secure it for Lord British, and to wipe out all the miniature child-empires that had been forming in the area. Didn't sound like a difficult proposition, we had three thousand foot and half that of heavy cavalry, and I don't think The Society has ever had as much magical talent as we have now. As soon as we started seeing the tell-tale logging shacks in the wood, I ordered Bravo Company to establish a palisaded camp while I took Alpha Company forward into Yew to establish a presence in the town proper. We knew there would be some resistance, it was to be expected in a pacification operation so far from the Imperial Center, but I expected the town to go easily and quietly and just have to fight guerilla engagements for the next six months or so rooting out insurgents. What we discovered when we arrived in town took us all by surprise. With the town less than a mile away, we had yet to see any inhabitants. I sent Myca's unit up ahead into town to make sure we were at the right spot while I deployed the rest of the company for an assault. I figured if the 1st couldn't spring a trap for us, no one could. I was sitting astride my horse, trying to survey the formations when Dawg rode up beside me with one of those looks on his face. I hate it when those wizards have those looks on their faces. "What is it?" I asked. "Thah keed...heez gots another one of thoze funny fahlings." "Great, me too." "Nah, Cap'n, thees onez importahnt." He touched the side of his nose dramatically. I imagine it was supposed to mean something. I looked over to the small band of combat mages preparing their arcane trappings for the coming fight. The kid was there, a little aside from the rest, cinching up his armor and checking the string on a tattered old crossbow. He looked as wet behind the ears as he was, pieces of roots and herbs hanging in little pouches scattered all over his person, clumsily trying to stay on his horse and at the same time get his shit together. But when the kid got a gut, the kid got a gut, and hell will have anyone who ignores it. I dismissed Dawg so I wouldn't have to keep smelling him and pulled the formations tighter. I planned on marching an unshakable needle of death into Yew and not spreading out till I knew it was secure. We began the march over the hill. It wasn't until the first men in the line were reaching the crest when my communication crystal to the Warders started screaming bloody murder...literally. One of Vodyanoy's corporals was screaming into his crystal, screaming about being ambushed, it was nearly impossible to make out, there was a lot of fire, men and women screaming, all I could tell is that they were in trouble. I quickly ordered the 2nd Roughriders to break off from formation and ride hard and come into the town from the south. I looked at my mages... I need every one of them close except..... "Rahl!" I yelled at the kid. "Yeah?" "Go with the Roughriders, it's time to bail the Warders out for a change." He grinned and saluted and rode with the 2nd off into the woods. Dawg looked at me like I had lost my mind, sending the kid in to provide magical support, I glared him back into his saddle. We crossed the rise and could see the Yew proper, nestled among the hills. It was deserted. There was no smoke from the chimneys, no people in the streets, nothing. Not even the 1st. We marched on towards the town as quietly as a thousand men could be, and then they appeared. All at once, hundreds upon hundreds of Dark Elves appeared in the forest in that creepy way that they do, bows poised and ready, completely surrounding us. My men were good, the immediately formed a five-tier circle, the cavalry freeing up from the infantry to maneuver. Everyone moved perfectly, fast enough to be efficient, and just slow enough as to not be blatantly provocative. There would have been a tear in my eye for the perfection had I not been soiling my armor in surprise at the DarkRychen's silent appearance. For a time, all was silent save for the occasional muffled sound of thunder coming from the direction of the Abbey... that must have been where the 1st was pinned down. We stared at the elves for quite a time. There was a few of their kind amongst our ranks, but I didn't dare seek them out to ask anything, lest my actions turn the standoff into a slaughter. Yet, we had a job to do, and the Society does it's job. I looked over to my Lieutenant and he nodded, slowly and inconspicuously raising his comm crystal to his lips and warning Bravo Company of our ambush. He nodded back that the message had been sent and understood. It was time to go to work. I stood in my saddle. "CITIZENS OF YEW!, " I yelled to no one in particular, "WE ARE THE BLACK ROSE SOCIETY!," Little bit of a rustle, at least our reputation was intact," Lord Daithomir, acting in the august light of Lord British has sent us to place the city under martial control until such a time as treasonous factions forming can be eliminated." I looked around at the faces surrounding us. Some were a little shaken...most weren't in the true elven tradition. I looked down at my Lieutenant, he looked up at me and mouthed the word "abbey". I nodded. "PEOPLE OF THE SPIDER!," I continued, " YOUR LANDS ARE NOT IN QUESTION HERE, GO BACK BEYOND YOUR BORDERS AND LEAVE THE TOWN OF YEW TO HER RIGHTFUL RULER!" They must have heard the disdain in my voice, I've never been very impressed with British in general, but he paid well. When two armies are at a standoff, the slightest cough is sometimes enough to start the slaughter. I make it The Society's business to make that first cough as loud and disruptive as possible. Thus the daemons that Dawg and Tree had been summoning for the last several minutes sprang into existence and roared off into the elven ranks. The battle had begun. We began pushing the troops north towards the Abbey and our missing men, but with wave after wave of blade-whirling elven death plowing into our ranks the going was slow. We lost a lot of men, but our lines held as the square pushed forward. The mages were kept busy healing key points in the line and bathing the enemy ranks with fire whenever they had a free moment. The bloke commanding the elves knew which way the wind was blowing, so he let us go where we wanted to, pulling his troops around to our rear to try to force us to move faster than we would like to the abbey, and then, the ocean. I would have loved to see the look on his face when a thousand heavy cavalry from Bravo Company slammed into their arses. At that point it was all over. The elven ranks scattered to the four winds under the pincer and I left Lieutenant Thelonius to clean up the mess while I took ten- score cavalry north to the Abbey. I've been a soldier all my life, and seeing as I'm quickly approaching my sixtieth year, I'd thought I'd seen every horror that war has to dish out. I was wrong. The Abbey was the site of a slaughter, quite a few dead elven warriors were present, but more disturbing was that the field was littered with piles and piles of dead women and children. In the center of the carnage sat Myca and the handful of his best troops remaining. A short distance off sat the kid, badly cut and burnt over the body of an elven priest or mage. There was no sign of the Roughriders. When I approached the kid to see if he was still alive he looked up at me. "This chap here...he...he did something to make the women and children hiding in the Abbey to rush us. There was nothing we could do but fight for our lives....they....um...they...." The kid broke into tears. I ordered the surgeon to take a look at him and I went over to get the Warder's report. Myca looked up at me like I had asked him for a weasel. "Well Sergeant?" I pressed. He pointed to the kid. "I vant him in my unit as part of the reinforcements." Now, rest assured I didn't like his tone, but Myca's a difficult man to argue with on the best of times, arguing with a Myca covered in the blood and gore of women and children is downright impossible. I gave the undisciplined upstart the only rebuke I could come up with. "Sure." I'm not sure if Daithomir's going to want Yew after this escapade, seeing as we pretty much decimated half of it's population. I didn't allow the rest of the men anywhere near the abbey, and I ordered all involved, especially the 1st, not to talk about it. I can see them out there now, twenty of the roughest men I've ever seen and an upstart kid, sitting around their cook-fire drinking like there's no tomorrow. Who knows, maybe there won't be? I'd feel just fine if I didn't have to remember the day. About three hours ago a relief force of Skara Brae regulars arrived to relieve us. Typical. Hire the mercs to do all the dying and send the "relief force" less than a day behind. I'm really starting to hate British and his cronies. They brought word that our current contract's up, and is due to be renewed fall of next year, however the Imperial Plenipotentiary of Vesper has asked us to come and breathe down the necks of some religious fanatics that are causing him problems. Heh. Must be messing up the scenery. I'll probably accept his offer, it'll be like a paid R&R for the men.