Gary^The^Procrastinator
Lenfel Scout Snipers: Taking Down A War Elephant
A story of conflict from Lands of Classic Castle.
DISCLAIMER: No offense meant to my Loreesi builder friends...but you been talkin’ smack, and it’s time for your smack-down!
Sir Caelan Munro looked out from the shadows at the approaching invaders with a mixture of anger and regret. He did not want to do this, but it was both his duty and was absolutely necessary. The Loreesi army was neither justified nor welcome. Lenfald had sought peace, even as the opening battle began, but driven by a lust for power the Loreesi would not listen. At the Battle of Ainesford, Lenfald had fought the Loreesi’s game out in the open, and had been destroyed by his war elephants and cavalry. Now it was time to fight the Lenfel way, with brains instead of brawn. Today was payback time.
Caelan looked around at his own Scout Snipers, well-hidden in their green-dyed leather armor, with a mixture of pride and concern. He had trained them hard, they had done exceptionally well, and now he was about to put them in harm’s way for the very first time. He had formed them only three months ago along with his wily and highly-capable chief archer, Tavish. The King had just been murdered, and all the evidence pointed to the power-mad Loreesi. Their own prince had declared he could “be king in a fortnight”. Not likely, so long as Lenfald opposed him. And so Lenfald was targeted.
The invading army was forced to use this road, for it bypassed a boggy marsh and skirted a thick forest. That made this road a “choke point”. The forest was now at the Scout Snipers’ backs and would allow a quick escape through hidden paths which the desert-soldiers of Loreos would not easily find.
The lead army elements came and passed by their position, completely unaware of the two dozen Scout Snipers waiting to strike. Then the main target came into range: the first war elephant, all dressed up in flashy Loreesi gold and red trappings. Finery would not save it.
Caelan did not give the order to fire. That would be decided by Flannery, formerly of Lenfald’s logging industry. He knew how to cut a large tree so that it barely stood with just enough trunk left, waiting for the final blows. And Flannery timed it perfect. The moment his enormous axe struck the first hit, every archer, including Caelan, let fly. They had each been tracking a selected target, and Caelan had sought a burly Loreesi marching right by the elephant. Out of the corner of his eye he watched his men strike their targets suddenly out of nowhere, shocking their victims even when they missed, which was rare. Tavish shot a knight right in the neck and the nobleman tumbled backward off his horse. But not Caelan. He shot wide and to the left...archery was never his strong suit.
For the Loreesi, shock and dismay spread as seconds flew by in chaos. That chaos got much worse as Flannery’s second blow brought the great tree down. It came crashing down on the elephant, which tried to avoid it by lumbering to the right, only to crash into another tree and trample several men in the process. Flannery’s tree still nailed it squarely in the back, after crushing two of the four men riding it. The great animal was down, and despite it’s struggling would clearly never rise again. It would also never be used again to crush Lenfels under foot.
Three shots. That was Caelan’s rule, and then mandatory rapid withdrawal into the forest. He hated it; he far preferred a stand-up fight with his longsword and dirk, but with thousands of Loreesi here, it would be suicide. He aimed and took his second shot at one blindly charging their position. And missed. Meanwhile Tavish felled another knight. Caelan’s third shot was at the same man as before and he so close now that the young Lenfel knight could make out his eye color...finally a hit, yet only in the leg!
Caelan quickly glanced around and saw that some of his men were still shooting. “NOW!” he yelled at the top of his lungs and they turned in unison and quietly faded into the paths they had used to arrive. Behind them he could hear the Loreesi charging. They crashed into thickets, vines, and thorny bushes to no avail, their eyes not used to the low-light of the forest. For all their frustration they could find nothing, except Flannery's axe and his message left on his implement of destruction: "You want our trees? Here is how you get them". By the time they stumbled onto anything that looked like a path, the Scout Snipers were already at their horses and mounted, having seen their first action. Not a single Sniper was wounded. Over three dozen of the invaders would not live through the night.
Postscript.
While riding to their next ambush site, Tavish looked at Caelan and stated, “Sir, your archery has not improved in spite of much practice. How is it that a leader of archers is such a bad shot?”
Caelan returned the stare. “How is it your arrows only find noblemen?”
Aware of how sensitive this issue was in their society, Tavish merely grinned, “Only Loreesi knights. They hardly count anyways.”
2nd DISCLAIMER: No real elephants were harmed in the making of the MOC.
Previous Caelan stories:
Lenfel Scout Snipers: Taking Down A War Elephant
A story of conflict from Lands of Classic Castle.
DISCLAIMER: No offense meant to my Loreesi builder friends...but you been talkin’ smack, and it’s time for your smack-down!
Sir Caelan Munro looked out from the shadows at the approaching invaders with a mixture of anger and regret. He did not want to do this, but it was both his duty and was absolutely necessary. The Loreesi army was neither justified nor welcome. Lenfald had sought peace, even as the opening battle began, but driven by a lust for power the Loreesi would not listen. At the Battle of Ainesford, Lenfald had fought the Loreesi’s game out in the open, and had been destroyed by his war elephants and cavalry. Now it was time to fight the Lenfel way, with brains instead of brawn. Today was payback time.
Caelan looked around at his own Scout Snipers, well-hidden in their green-dyed leather armor, with a mixture of pride and concern. He had trained them hard, they had done exceptionally well, and now he was about to put them in harm’s way for the very first time. He had formed them only three months ago along with his wily and highly-capable chief archer, Tavish. The King had just been murdered, and all the evidence pointed to the power-mad Loreesi. Their own prince had declared he could “be king in a fortnight”. Not likely, so long as Lenfald opposed him. And so Lenfald was targeted.
The invading army was forced to use this road, for it bypassed a boggy marsh and skirted a thick forest. That made this road a “choke point”. The forest was now at the Scout Snipers’ backs and would allow a quick escape through hidden paths which the desert-soldiers of Loreos would not easily find.
The lead army elements came and passed by their position, completely unaware of the two dozen Scout Snipers waiting to strike. Then the main target came into range: the first war elephant, all dressed up in flashy Loreesi gold and red trappings. Finery would not save it.
Caelan did not give the order to fire. That would be decided by Flannery, formerly of Lenfald’s logging industry. He knew how to cut a large tree so that it barely stood with just enough trunk left, waiting for the final blows. And Flannery timed it perfect. The moment his enormous axe struck the first hit, every archer, including Caelan, let fly. They had each been tracking a selected target, and Caelan had sought a burly Loreesi marching right by the elephant. Out of the corner of his eye he watched his men strike their targets suddenly out of nowhere, shocking their victims even when they missed, which was rare. Tavish shot a knight right in the neck and the nobleman tumbled backward off his horse. But not Caelan. He shot wide and to the left...archery was never his strong suit.
For the Loreesi, shock and dismay spread as seconds flew by in chaos. That chaos got much worse as Flannery’s second blow brought the great tree down. It came crashing down on the elephant, which tried to avoid it by lumbering to the right, only to crash into another tree and trample several men in the process. Flannery’s tree still nailed it squarely in the back, after crushing two of the four men riding it. The great animal was down, and despite it’s struggling would clearly never rise again. It would also never be used again to crush Lenfels under foot.
Three shots. That was Caelan’s rule, and then mandatory rapid withdrawal into the forest. He hated it; he far preferred a stand-up fight with his longsword and dirk, but with thousands of Loreesi here, it would be suicide. He aimed and took his second shot at one blindly charging their position. And missed. Meanwhile Tavish felled another knight. Caelan’s third shot was at the same man as before and he so close now that the young Lenfel knight could make out his eye color...finally a hit, yet only in the leg!
Caelan quickly glanced around and saw that some of his men were still shooting. “NOW!” he yelled at the top of his lungs and they turned in unison and quietly faded into the paths they had used to arrive. Behind them he could hear the Loreesi charging. They crashed into thickets, vines, and thorny bushes to no avail, their eyes not used to the low-light of the forest. For all their frustration they could find nothing, except Flannery's axe and his message left on his implement of destruction: "You want our trees? Here is how you get them". By the time they stumbled onto anything that looked like a path, the Scout Snipers were already at their horses and mounted, having seen their first action. Not a single Sniper was wounded. Over three dozen of the invaders would not live through the night.
Postscript.
While riding to their next ambush site, Tavish looked at Caelan and stated, “Sir, your archery has not improved in spite of much practice. How is it that a leader of archers is such a bad shot?”
Caelan returned the stare. “How is it your arrows only find noblemen?”
Aware of how sensitive this issue was in their society, Tavish merely grinned, “Only Loreesi knights. They hardly count anyways.”
2nd DISCLAIMER: No real elephants were harmed in the making of the MOC.
Previous Caelan stories: