“ If the Irish are a mixed force of horse and foot, we might be able to act as the bee to the bear. We move in and they must deploy for battle. They deploy, we withdraw, they march, we close, and they deploy, and we again withdraw.” Offers Sejanus in way of counsel.

“It takes time to go from a March formation to a battle one, and the same is true, in reverse. We might be able to slow them down to one degree or another.”

 Sejanus was quick to add the following.” These ideas are not mine; they are the tactical genius of Caesar, and Marcus Antonius”.  When Sir Gracian, offered praise for Sejanus’s suggestion.

"You are a scholar Sir Sejanus - I envy you." says Sir Gracian and sound like he means. There is a tone of sadness in his voice as he touches a gold ring on his right hand. The ring is exquisitely made and is obviously old. For a moment he is lost in his thoughts before he suddenly smiles "Let us then hope our plan will work, Sir Sejanus."

"Then we should at least send our men first, and allow the squires to catch up with them with our spare horses later in the day.  While I may not like the idea of rushing headfirst into the dragon's maw, it appears we have little choice in the matter.  Our lord has given us our orders, and we must see them though, at any cost."

"Well spoken Sir Perin. But I suggest we try our best to live to tell the tale of our glorious encounter with the Irish." he says with a grin. "I am not sure my fair Lady Ariette will approve of me being killed today. You know how women can be."

Sir Perin's face breaks into a grin as he claps Sir Gracian on the back "And if I were to let you die, I would never hear the end of it I'm sure my friend.  Don't you worry, I'll make sure you return to your lady love in one piece!"

"With the grace of our Lord, Iesus Christus, We shall prevail, if our cause be just. So let us place our faith in our God, and the skill of our blades, My Brothers."

 Sejanus, most times the quiet one in the group, suddenly raised his voice, so the entire group of Knights and Men at Arms could hear." let us all bow our heads and offer up a prayer to God, our Savior, and  for the blessing of Saint Albans, who was martyred for our faith." Sejanus raised his sword like a Crucifix, holding it by the blade.

"I was told a long time ago. Do not speak of death, and do not speak of life for these happen no matter what words are said. Better to be in the moment, so one may experience what God has given." Garym bowed his head in respect to Sejanus, but in truth he grew tired of praying.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:18, Mon 18 Sept 2017.

Sir Gracian bows his head in prayer even if he is not a very religious man but he respect Sir Sejanus faith and how much it means to him.

He cant help but think of what Sir Garym says about being in the moment. He vaguely remember his father trying to impart some words of wisdom to Sir Gracian when he was a child but he doesnt remember much of it. Sadly.

When the prayer is over he turns to Sir Perin with a grin on his face "Are you sure it is not because you need my Lady's help to win the heart of a certain woman that makes you so concerned for my health?"

The knights decide that speed is the greatest necessity at the moment and the 16 knights head off as soon as they are across the river, hoping to catch up with and harass the Irish.  Sir Cadlew coordinates the crossing of the men-at-arms and follows the knights about an hour behind them.  The squires and extra horses are the last to cross and they proceed about an hour later than the men-at-arms.  Sir Ceredig awaits Earl Roberts and the other knights on the west bank of the river, planning to ferry them across as quickly as possible once they arrive.

Compared to the last week-and-a-half of trackless wilderness, the trade route down toward Caerwent is a welcome change.  Hurrying along, they kick up a lot of dust but they are able to move fairly quickly at least.  The group is a little surprised to find no travelers on the road.  However, after about an hour Sir Dalan notices a traveler hidden in the bushes off to the side.

The group reigns in and asks the man what he is about.  He seems a little frightened by the large force of knights and stutters that he was just trying to stay out of way.  He is a little worried as you are the third large band he has seen this morning.  There was a larger group of knights early, a ways after dawn.  Then about a hundred men-at-arms around mid-morning, and now you.

He is not exactly clear on times or numbers but it has been a while since he saw the men-at-arms.  The knights inform the man that there are more groups of soldiers and knights coming but they will not harm him and then they race off in pursuit of their quarry.

It is about an hour later that Sir Garym spots a peasant and his wife hiding in a field.  Once again, the knights reign in to question the couple.  They say that they also saw a 'lot' of knights this morning and much more recently a 'lot' of soldiers.  They hid and both groups passed them by.  Both seemed to be moving quickly like your own group.

Half an hour later, Sir Sejanus spots a friar peeking out from the windows of a small church by the side of the road.  The group halts once more and bids the friar tell them of any other groups of knights or soldiers he has seen.  The friar takes some convincing as like the two previous groups, you are clearly not from Gloucester or Escavalon.

Once convinced of your good intentions, he tells you that two dozen knights came through in a hurry in late morning (a couple of hours ago) and that a large body of men-at-arm, probably 50 or so, just passed by a short time ago.  About a dozen of the men had bows.  In fact, the air is still a little dusty from their passing.

He tells you that the road continues through the scrubby trees and bushes you see for another mile and then it is cleared for the next couple of miles (he lists off the names of several farmers whose farms run along the road).

It is currently about 1:00 p.m.  You would guess that you are halfway to the bridge.  Your men-at-arms are probably two hours behind you.

Sixteen knights against 50 men-at-arms is not the best odds but in the open with some surprise, it is certainly favorable to you.  Sixteen knights against 24 knights is somewhat worse odds and would be extremely worse if the two groups were together.

Sir Dalan, Sir Garym, and Sir Sejanus get checks in Awareness if they don't already have them.

What would you like to do?

1.  Attack the men-at-arms in the open.

2.  Try to negotiate the surrender of the men-at-arms (probably unlikely and will allow them to prepare).

3.  Try to bypass the men-at-arms and continue after the knights ahead of them?

4.  Await reinforcements?

5.  Something else?

Sir Perin turns to his fellows, and quietly murmurs "I see little choice but to press our advantage and attack.  If we allow the two groups to link back up, it will not end well for us.  Yes, it will slow us down, but if fortune favors us, the initial charge should cause significant damage.  If we can maintain our momentum and avoid being bogged down, then we should be able to wheel and charge again."

"To battle one group and than next..... difficult. If, we could break through the Men at arms, and push forward to the Irish Knights. One hard Charge, and we might be able to scatter them."

"I suspect it will take more than a single charge to break them, but perhaps we will get lucky.  The main advantage would be of course, that when we faced their knights in the future, they would be entirely without support.  It might make them amenable to negotiations."

"Might it be possible to detour around their foot, unless we see a chance to scatter their archers, and then engage their Knights? If we best them, we can be the hammer to our Men at Arms  anvil, for the Irish foot. It be a gamble, but a worthy one, the way I see it.”

Sir Gracian nods quietly and spits on the ground. He feel the lance in his hand and steadies his breathing.

"I dont want to be caught between their footmen and their knights. I say we attack now, charge through and then back again causing as much carnage as possible."

Sejanus nodded " I shall follow the elder Knights decision."

"I agree with gallant Sir Gracian," Sir Dalan says. "It is time to offer battle."

It is decided that attacking the men-at-arms is the best plan.  The enemy brought them for some purpose and taking advantage of the opportunity to destroy them seems too tempting.  It also seems like a bad plan to end up between the enemy knights and the enemy men-at-arms.

Sir Sejanus pushes ahead of the rest of the party and scouts out the enemy.  He knows that he is close as the dust from the road gets thicker.  He manages to catch sight of the end of the column without being noticed and waits for it to leave the woods before heading back to the other knights.

After a quick conference, a battle plan is drawn up.  Eight knights will line up to the left of the road and charge as soon as the men-at-arms are an appropriate distance from the woods.  The other eight knights will line up to the right side of the road and charge as soon as the first group makes contact.  Both groups should go for the archers first and ride through, turn around, and charge back as the enemy soldiers try to deal with the next charge.

Battle rolls:
Knights are +5 surprise, +5 Knights versus soldiers, -10 1:4 odds.
Sir Sejanus, rolled 16 using 1d20.  Battle.
Enemy men-at-arms, rolled 3 using 1d20.  Battle.
Knights -5, Enemy 0.


The initial charge catches the enemy completely by surprise as the clomping of charging hooves is muffled by the grass and the sound of fifty marching feet.  The rear of the column yells out as the knights are almost on them and some of the soldiers attempt to scatter but it is too late.  Heading for the archers first, Sir Dalan, Sir Gracian, and Sir Sejanus knock their foes unconscious, while Sir Perin and Sir Garym kill their opponents outright.  One of the other archers is knocked out as well.

Knights are +5 for being mounted, +5 for using a lance, and -5 battle modifier.
Sir Sejanus, rolled 17 using 1d20.  Lance.
Sir Perin, rolled 20 using 1d20.  Lance.
Sir Gracian, rolled 9 using 1d20.  Lance.
Sir Garym, rolled 11 using 1d20.  Lance.
Sir Dalan, rolled 10 using 1d20.  Lance.
Sir Sejanus, rolled 20 using 5d6.  Damage.
Sir Perin, rolled 40 using 12d6.  Damage.
Sir Gracian, rolled 22 using 5d6.  Damage.
Sir Garym, rolled 26 using 5d6.  Damage.
Sir Dalan, rolled 17 using 4d6+2.  Damage.

Sir Perin gets a point in Lance, everyone else gets a check in lance if you don't already have one.

The remaining archers loose arrows as the next wave of knights charge, with only a couple managing to penetrate armor and do slight damage.  The knights, however, mow down the remaining archers like a scythe harvesting golden stalks of grain.

Knights are +5 for being mounted, +5 for using a lance, and -5 battle modifier.  Archers have no modifiers.
Knights, rolled 70 using 8d20 with rolls of 14,5,7,12,1,16,2,13.  Lance.
Archers, rolled 38 using 6d20 with rolls of 8,9,11,2,2,6.  Bow.
Archer 1, rolled 3 using 3d6 with rolls of 1,1,1.  Damage.
Archer 2, rolled 10 using 3d6 with rolls of 6,3,1.  Damage.
Archer 3, rolled 6 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,1,2.  Damage.
Archer 4, rolled 12 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,4,6.  Damage.
Archer 5, rolled 14 using 3d6 with rolls of 4,4,6.  Damage.
Archer 6, rolled 8 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,3,2.  Damage.

As the knights turn to charge back through, a core of about two-dozen soldiers have formed a square.  However, without archers in the center, or pikes, they are not extremely effective against mounted knights with lances.  About a dozen more men are scrambling back toward the cover of the trees, and it is these that the knights charge.  The fleeing men turn to face the charging knights but are unable to hit the knights.  Sir Dalan manages to kill his opponent, while the others wounded theirs.

Knights are +5 for being mounted, +5 for using a lance, and -5 battle modifier.  Soldiers are -5 for being on foot.
Sir Dalan, rolled 20 using 1d20 with rolls of 20.  Lance.
Sir Garym, rolled 8 using 1d20 with rolls of 8.  Lance.
Sir Gracian, rolled 10 using 1d20 with rolls of 10.  Lance.
Sir Perin, rolled 9 using 1d20 with rolls of 9.  Lance.
Sir Sejanus, rolled 7 using 1d20 with rolls of 7.  Lance.
Soldier 1, rolled 9 using 1d20 with rolls of 9.  Sword.
Soldier 2, rolled 4 using 1d20 with rolls of 4.  Sword.
Soldier 3, rolled 13 using 1d20 with rolls of 13.  Sword.
Soldier 4, rolled 9 using 1d20 with rolls of 9.  Sword.
Soldier 5, rolled 11 using 1d20 with rolls of 11.  Sword.
Sir Sejanus, rolled 17 using 5d6 with rolls of 3,2,5,5,2.  Damage.
Sir Perin, rolled 20 using 6d6 with rolls of 3,5,2,3,4,3.  Damage.
Sir Gracian, rolled 13 using 5d6 with rolls of 3,1,2,1,6.  Damage.
Sir Garym, rolled 17 using 5d6 with rolls of 6,1,1,6,3.  Damage.
Sir Dalan, rolled 35 using 8d6+4.  Damage.

Sir Dalan gets a point in Lance

Although they have taken a lot of casualties, the enemy is not ready to give up yet.  The second group of knights makes their second charge.  They head for those still trying to make it to the trees and a couple more soldiers go down, with the others being wounded.  There are now twenty five men in a square, which is now marching toward the trees, and another ten individuals, all wounded, also heading for the trees.  Despite the losses, they remain oddly defiant, perhaps hoping if they can make it to cover, the knights' advantages will be nullified.

The two groups of knights charge one last time at the now-fleeing soldiers, who hope to make it to the cover of the trees as their fellows slowly plod toward the same cover in square formation.  The ten fleeing soldiers are cut down and the knights reform as a single unit lower their lances and call to the remaining soldiers to throw down their arms.  The soldiers have had enough and see no possibility of surviving, even if they make it to the trees.  They lay down their arms.

Sir Sejanus, rolled 14 using 1d20.  Lance.
Sir Perin, rolled 15 using 1d20.  Lance.
Sir Gracian, rolled 6 using 1d20.  Lance.
Sir Garym, rolled 5 using 1d20.  Lance.
Sir Dalan, rolled 12 using 1d20.  Lance.
Sir Sejanus, rolled 23 using 5d6.  Damage.
Sir Perin, rolled 18 using 6d6.  Damage.
Sir Gracian, rolled 22 using 5d6.  Damage.
Sir Garym, rolled 17 using 5d6.  Damage.
Sir Dalan, rolled 19 using 4d6+2.  Damage.
Knights, rolled 90 using 8d20 with rolls of 14,13,10,15,5,10,7,16.  Lance.

You now have 25 prisoners (a few of which are wounded), 15 unconscious and 10 dead enemy soldiers.  Four knights can reasonably hold them captive and give them simple orders (bury dead, carry wounded, etc.).  There are not quite enough conscious soldiers to carry all of the unconscious ones.  If left alone they can fashion primitive melee weapons and cause problems.

What would you like to do?

Everyone gets 75 Glory.  No one is wounded.

  Like some Pagan god of war, the mounted figure wheeled his horse, for the last time, a crimson stained sword in his right hand, baptized in the spattered blood and gore of the enemy. A new sound became to replace the melody of battle, which has been heard for the last several minutes.

 The sound was that of the Irish foot throwing down their arms, and begging quarter from the mounted Knights, now undisputed Masters of the field this day. Sejanus lowered his sword, drawing in a few deep breaths. He motioned his blade to where he wanted the nearest prisoners to move.

"Well fought, Brother Knights! Well fought indeed!" Sir Gracian calls out. He is thrilled that no knight is seriously wounded or killed.

"We owe much of this victory to you, Sir Sejanus. Your keen eyes and wit helped bring victory today!"

He looks around and count the number of prisoners. "We must assign four knights to guard the prisoners and make sure the dead are buried with dignity and honor. The rest of us must waste no time, but instead push on and pursue the Irish knights. Are you with me, Brother Knights?"

Sir Perin is grinning from ear to ear as he claps Sir Gracian on the back "That was some strike my friend, well done!"  His demeanor turns a bit more solemn as he surveys the dead strewn about the battlefield, quickly adding "Aye, they fought bravely, even when outnumbered.  Of course they deserve the comfort of a proper burial... However as you say, we need to keep moving, so your idea to have a few of our brothers supervise the situation is a sound one."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:07, Tue 19 Sept 2017.

"An excellent fight my brothers," Sir Dalan says, a wolfish smile on his face. "As Sir Gracian says we owe much to you Sir Sejanus."

He nods approvingly at Sir Perin's words, then turns to address the Irish prisoners, his tone firm but not threatening: "Do any of you Gaelsmen know the Cymric tongue?"

A rather large soldier stands and faces Sir Dalan, "I speak your tongue," he replies.

OOC:  They are not going to have much to say about anything but can certainly understand orders or directions and will generally follow them.

  As the group of nights rallied again, two of the elder Knights spoke praise of Sejanus.” You honor me, my brothers. But whatever I did, was only because of the Good God above, and willed it so.”

"It seems we will not be able catch up to them, and still remain battle ready. They will need to find a ship to escape. Can they even bring one close enough, or will they attempt to capture one. Perhaps we can get there first."

 While Sejanus did not think Himself a Priest, he did what a layman might do. He dismounted from his horse, went to his knees,and prayed for the souls of the fallen Irish in Latin,of course.