Following hand signals from Miroslav, Barmak easily pilots the new ship into the port area and dock area and he and it's skeleton crew dock it alongside the Heart of Oak.

The docks are bustling with ships returning from the sea battle and men anxious to check on their families before heading to the north wall of the city.

A few ships remain at sea as per Dobrynya's orders to watch for any other sea born attacks.

Miroslav watches Barmak handle the new ship with no small amount of admiration. Once the ship is secured Miroslav calls out..."You have handled that strange vessel well Barmak. It is in my mind that you shall be the pilot of our new flagship!"

He looks back to the Heart of Oak and says..."Oleg shall captain the Heart for us...but now we need a fitting name for our new flag ship!"

Balthazar flies down to the dock.  "Bad news.  I saw a sea of Pecheneg, mostly human and well equipped compared to the rabble we faced before. At least 2,000 with a line of incoming troops as far as the eye could see. Most of these incoming were human as well but there looked to be several platoons of full blood orc infantry mixed in as well."

He pauses, then adds, "Still, I didn't see anything in that horde that can harm an elemental, so I will go set up my brazier at once and unleash my good friend Sparky."

Balthazar finds a high tower overlooking the horde to operate out of, sprinkles the sulphur into the brazier to get the +1/hit die.  Once Sparky (12 hit dice) appears, Balthazar orders him out into the Pecheneg midst to destroy them, and particularly to set afire to any siege equipment they have.

Should be fun to watch!

Balthazar grabs a bowl of popcorn and looks out an arrow slit.

When Balthazar reports what he has seen and his intention to unleash Sparky Loukas replies, "Remember that they do have Shamen, but you are right, I think. Let Sparky run amok while they are arriving and before they've time to settle before the gates. Indeed, if he strikes at those arriving it may cause those before the wall to be more easily counter attacked by us from the sea. I think this will please the Regent!"

Before he returns to the wall to tell Dobrynya Balthazar's scheme he turns to Miroslav, "The Regent commands us to the wall and wishes to see our Byzantine friends."

He pauses when the Big Rus mentions a name for their new flagship, "Hmmm... How about The Song of Khorsun? It may not a very martial name, but it will be much more haunting to the Emperor. After all, a song stays around as long as there are people to sing this glorious vessel from him as easily as a song!"

With Balthazar's return A'kos says, "I'll be sure to stay away from your brazier, friend Balthazar.  My sword and your elemental would not agree."

To Loukas, Miroslav and the rest, "I'll find a place near where the mongrel horde will most likely attack...Jaleh, if you could find a roost somewhere nearby, I'll ask you to guard my flank with that bow of yours.  We've bloody business to attend it seems."

"Will do," Jaleh said as she began scanning around for a good roost to get elevation from.

Miroslav purses his lips and nods his head at Louka's suggested name for the new ship..."Ah, let the emperor remember this day every time he hears the name of the ship that harries his coast!"

He then looks north and says..."To the wall!! Even those who's feet never leave the deck of a ship...we will need all hands manning the north wall until we hear otherwise."

The wall is roughly an mile due north through the city. There are several buildings higher than the wall that make good vantage points for archery, spell work or just scoping out the scene...the wall itself has a parapet to fight from.

Before the others reach the wall, Sparky flashes to life and following the commands of his earthly master flies over the wall and into the midsts of the Pechenegs. The relatively dimwitted elemental begins to lay waste to the central mass of horsemen who first attempts to drive it away with arrows and thrusts from lances. Most of these weapons burn up upon contact with the elementals body.

Still some damages does seem to be done to the elemental as more elite armed troops rush forward to do battle with the fiery creature.

Those traveling to the wall get there in time to see the elite clash with Sparky while more and more Pechenegs pour from the hills surrounding the city. As of yet there does not appear to be any siege weapons.

Apart from attacking the elemental the horse beyond the wall looks content to volley flaming arrows and commit half-hearted charges at the gates until more of their number arrive.

The wall is manned by a few hundred militia and regular soldiers. A few squads of Varangians wait on the city side of the wall ready to defend of be set loose upon the enemy...they number around 200. More defenders stream to the wall now that the battle at sea has been decided.

A'kos taps his pouch, mutters, "Soon, my friend," as he scans the horde from atop the walls.

Heinrich looks for the best spot to support A'kos with his bow as the fighting begins. He'll snipe at the troops attacking Sparky as best he can, paying particular to officers and unarmored horses that can be panicked by injury. War is ugly.

OOC: Not sure if the walls or a building would make a better place....Unless there is a significant improvement in position on a building, will head to the walls with a rope near enough by to rappel down if need be.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:33, Wed 09 May 2012.

Dyanna joins the others in defense of the wall. She strings her bow and readies herself to let an arrow fly.

"I am a bit drained from the illusion of the ships but I can still bend a bow in defense of my city."

Loukas follows Miro back to the wall and from there watches Sparky burn his way through the attackers. He can't help but think that Balthazar might've struck a bit more tactically than simply unleash Sparky, but even if the barbarians eventually send the elemental back to his native realm it will distract and delay the attackers and give Khorsun a bit of a respite.

Turning to the Regent and Miroslav, "This is going to sound foolish, maybe, but it seems as if there is little point to a counter attack beyond Balthazar's elemental at this point. Destroying 200 of the bastards when there are thousands more coming seems... Insignificant. They do not yet have lines of any sort to speak of, nor do they have siege engines. Since we have the sea, we've little to fear about food... Water. Water is our weakness for a long siege, is it not?"

Miroslav shakes his shaggy head...Water would only be a problem if the Pechenegs did as we did and cut the aqueducts into the city and we were blockaded from sea travel as the Greeks were. We can travel freely for supplies...what worries me are the numbers. Kurya Khan is in league with the Emperor, he must have something up his sleeve other than throwing bodies at the wall. He is no fool."

"With his numbers the Khan needs no tricks," rumbles A'kos.

ooc: not sure if he's in hearing range of Loukas and Miro...but that's what he would say if he heard the exchange.

Loukas rubs his chin as he watches Sparky, "This is where Balthazar and Dyanna give us an advantage, I think. Unless, the Khan also has mages... We shall need to strike carefully, though. With their magic we are ten times as great or more, but it sounds as if the Khan's numbers may well be still greater. If nothing else, Sparky out there is buying us some time. Something tells me that tomorrow we shall have a long day ahead of us."

Balthazar winces, "I'm quite surprised these elite troops have weapons magical enough to harm Sparky.  It requires a significant enchantment - what we wizards call colloquially a +2 - to do so.  Do you think the party can concentrate their firepower on these elite troops?"

ooc: A'kos is more your traditional close quarter type of fighter...

Perhaps Dyanna can make you improved invisible?  Otherwise, I don't recommend you wading into that horde.

Loukas calls the Regent's attention to the focus Sparky is receiving, "My Lord, were we to focus our attention on the forces attacking the elemental we would severely damage their assault. If our archers focus their attention down there we shall not only aid our fiery ally, but kill even more of their best soldiers."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:01, Fri 11 May 2012.

A'kos shakes his head, smiles at Balthazar.

"No fool am I, spellbinder," he answers.  "I will await them right here...opportunity will no doubt present itself for me to ply my wares."

Heinrich adjusts his aim to target the troops attacking Sparky, sending a steady stream of arrows into their foes. He will target any unarmored animals as well, looking to cause a panic among the mounts if possible.

Bow shot from the wall begins to take it's toll on both the regulars and elite of the Pechenegs who call a retreat a few hundred yards back. Sparky does not follow.

The Pecheneg mounted archers rain arrows down upon the elemental but they burn upon contact...this is halted by a few guttural commands in the Turkic language of the Pechenegs.

About 100 yards from the wall several figures in feathered robes raise their hands to the sky clearly beseeching their gods for rain. A few moments later rain begins to fall but Sparky burns so hot that he is soon surrounded by steam and almost completely obscured by it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:40, Thu 24 May 2012.

Heinrich shifts his fire to the figures in feathered robes, seeing if he can hit them with the current conditions. He'll ask the regulars on the wall to keep him supplied with arrows as he steadily fires at the invaders.

Wanting to put an end to the feathered robes' magic, Jaleh launches some arrows their way that hit no where near their mark.

Jaleh:
rolled -1 using 1d20-4. Bow shot 1 THAC0 11.
rolled -1 using 1d20-4. Bow shot 2 THAC0 11.

Dyanna lets two arrows fly in the direction of the feathered cloaks. Her first shot is no where near target and her second is little better. She does not even look to see if it hits anything, instead she cringes and turns away.

Ugh!
00:16, Today: Dyanna. rolled 4 using 1d20-4.
00:15, Today: Dyanna. rolled 0 using 1d20-4. short bow. Unmodified.