At the end of September 950AD.

The group consisted of Vlad, Carloman, Pavol and Radovan. Miguel was recovering from wounds and Aleks Ironhead had travelled into Herzlavakia to visit a friend. The remaining Heroes were joined in a bar-room broil, by Igor, a friend of Aleks and by a strange Angonian Cleric named Theobald. After the tavern affray, which had left a Welsh mercenary dead; the group decided to take some time out of Triente. They hired the gallea Falco and set sail with a crew of Trientan officers, Translavonian oarsmen and a dozen Adallian crossbowmen, with the intention of raiding the coast of Translavonia. They were joined on this venture, by an Asgard merchant, one Vasko, whom the group hoped might help with his commercial and sailing skills. After days of making little headway against onshore winds, a storm force Bora struck up driving them southwards before it. Fortunately the fragile gallea suffered no damage and after a couple of days the Heroes were able to make for the coast of Translavonia, where they quickly fell in with two local merchantmen, bound for Triente.

The cargo vessels ran for the shore, but the swift Falco soon overtook, first one then the other. Two short, but savage boarding actions took place after which our Heroes took possession of both prizes for the loss of three crossbowmen dead and a few light wounds due to the spirited defence of the merchant crews. The coasters proved to be carrying grain to Triente, which our Heroes carried into the port and sold for a handsome profit.

The Heroes spent the next few weeks in Triente, spending some of their ill-gotten gains, buying a Palazzo in the city and a modest house and stables in San Giuliano, to house their growing ramada. They commissioned the construction of a large open decked raider, before setting off overland to buy horses in Saczow, hiring as escorts 12 Adallian cavalry and 10 Magyar horse archers. Miguel had now re-joined the Heroes, but Igor and Aleks had stayed behind to safeguard their interests in Triente.

The well-armed party travelled without incident to Saczow, where they unfortunately found no horses for sale. However, during the following week, 15 suitable horses were brought in from the surrounding countryside, when word spread that the group was buying. To make the trip more worthwhile despite the paucity of horses, the group bought 20 pack mules which they loaded with chestnuts, before setting off for the return journey.

All went well as our Heroes rode north through the Autumnal forests rich with vistas of red and gold turning leaves. All went well that is, until they reached Lijkovac. Here in the town, where on an earlier venture, Aleksandr had killed Radoslav Paskovic in a bar-room brawl, the Heroes were detained on a trumped up charge of spying. Released after a week’s delay, the band once again journeyed north, entering the forest in the lands of the Paskovic clan. During the week our Heroes were delayed in Lijkovac, Sievar Paskovic, clan chief, had gathered his whole sept in ambush, determined on blood revenge for his slain nephew. Not only had Aleks killed Radoslav, but following the fracas, Miguel had slain the boy’s father Slavomir, Sievar’s younger brother, when he had tried to exact vengeance.

Sievar had gathered pretty well the whole Paskovic clan to exact his revenge on our Heroes, 140 fighting men. He chose a spot deep in the woods  and had blocked the road north with a stout barricade of stakes and plashed branches, it’s eastern end resting against a treacherous marsh. Behind the barricade, he had massed 22 chosen spearmen whilst to the south, on both sides of the road, the woods swarmed with a further 60 spearmen and 30 plus archers. In the woods behind the barricade he had massed the clan’s 30 mounted warriors.

Our heroes rode in column, their vanguard formed by their Magyar horse-archers. Following the Magyars rode our heroes, themselves in column of twos, Miguel and Radovan, followed by Vlad and Theo, Carloman and then Pavol and Vasko. Finally the Adallian mercenaries brought up the rear with the horses and pack train.

Legend

a	7 heroes, 2 abreast	1	Sievar with 11 cavalry	6	20 Paskovic spearmen
b	10 Magyar skirmishers	2	10 Paskovic cavalry	7	18 Paskovic spearmen
c	12 Adallian cavalry with the pack train	3	10 Paskovic cavalry	8	12 Paskovic archers
		4	22 Paskovic spearmen	9	12 Paskovic archers
		5	20 Paskovic spearmen	10	10 Paskovic archers

 

 

Fortunately for our Heroes, the Magyar point-men saw the barricade, before Sievar could spring his ambush and called the alarm. A storm of arrows streaked out from the woods, killing one of the Magyars and inflicting slight wounds on Miguel, Theo and Vlad. An arrow buried deep in the flank of Carloman’s horse, causing it to throw him and bolt, leaving him uninjured, but afoot. The Magyars fell back skirmishing and Miguel joined them briefly, hurling a javelin amongst the Paskovic archers, killing one of them outright. Miguel then rode back, hoisting Carloman behind him, whilst Theo, Radovan and Vlad covered his flanks… Pavol however, rode for the pack train, taking Vasko with him.

Seeing his prey slipping from his grasp, Sievar ordered a general advance; one group of his cavalry (2) riding behind his infantry to attack the pack-train and its escorts, whilst a mass of spearmen (6) rushed onto the road to cut off the Magyar’s retreat. Seeing the spearmen in the open and in loose order, Miguel and his comrades charged them in flank and scattered them, driving them in flight back into the archers (9) behind them, panicking these too.

 As he and Vasko passed, Pavol shouted orders to the Adallians to cut the pack-train loose and retire with the tethered horses. However, the mercenaries were already beset Paskovic cavalry (2) and no one heard the order. The rest of Sievar’s cavalry now charged; his own men (1) slammed into the flank of our Heroes. The other group (3) charged the Magyars, who evaded them falling back in good order down the road, leaving the Pakovici to smash into already engaged Adallian mercenaries. The outnumbered mercenaries finally cut loose the pack train and the tethered mounts in a desperate stand against overwhelming odds, while the five Heroes fought for their lives against Seivar’s hearthmen. Pavol chose to join the Magyars rather than his embattled comrades.

Taking advantage of a lull in the onslaught Radovan assumed command of the beleaguered five and pulled them back down the road, rallying the Adallians to him as he went. Sievar raged as his quarry began to slip away, but with the horses and pack mules to gather and his infantry falling behind, he called off the pursuit. Altogether, a Magyar and two Adallian Cavalieri had been killed and several of the group’s mercenaries wounded alongside all five of the Heroes who had fought. They had lost their horses and the pack train, but escaped with their lives and some bitter memories…

As the group made camp that night, many miles to the south of the ambush site, there were many and bitter recriminations about the day’s events. Pavol was demoted from his leadership position and Radovan became the group’s new Military leader. Over the next weeks, they worked their way through the forests and over the mountains to the north-east turning west again through increasingly wintry weather to finally arrive back in Triente by the end of November.