Dark_RP

Bitter Crusade VII
Fiendish Winter IV
Upon rising the next night Gregoire and Maelduin decided not to tempt fate any further, and set off back toward the vale and town of Toth.
Meanwhile at Castle Toth the other members of the Itinerant Company were engaged in discussion and preparations for the coming siege.
Some were suprised to find Bodor spending much of his time closeted with Myca Vycos, but the company was asured that they would be included in a council of war upon the return of their fellows.
During this time Volund lost patience and transforming himself into the form of a raven, set of to determine the proximity of Voivode Koban's army.
Flying through the strong bitting winds was difficult, and nigh-on froze the vampiric raven to his core, but on the second night of scouting he saw the force slowly snaking along the forested frozen road, just outside the Vale of Toth. Human and monster alike progresing by dim torchlight below.
Back at the Keep, Brother Anthony Mortius thought it best to obtain the token protection of some armour for the coming conflict, and so sought out captain Radu, comander of the castle guard. The grim captain was found amid the preparations of his men in the courtyard and was glad to oblige the palid priest.
During this mortius noticed hanging about the man's neck a small wooden Yellow Cross, sign of both the Cathars and the Bogomils. Upon seeing it Mortius uttered one of the Cainite Heresy's secret signs of recognition, and recieving bewilderment as his only response concluded that the man was of the mortal Bogomils.
However, having gained the captain's interest, and told him a little of himself, Mortius was asked to bless his men before the coning fight. A request Mortius was glad to grant.
Later that night Volund returned, and relayed what he had seen to the others and to Bodor and Erzabet, stating that the numbers given by Koban apear to be acurate.
The next night saw the return of Maelduin, Gregoire, Dragovich, and Jean Sebastian. Who likewise told of their endeavors to their fellows before reporting to the Boyar.
Not long after the council of war was called in the castle's great hall. Boyar Bodor sat in noble's robes at the head of the long oaken table, before him were various parchments and a great old war-sword. Beside him sat his childer and children, Erzabet to his right with Pietre, while Kilian and Angelike his youngest sat to his left, the glowing brazier burning behind them. The Itinerant Company took their seats around the table and the discussion began in earnest.
The proposals were thus:
To embrace a group of towns folk to use as shock troops, voted down yet may be considered in dire straits.
To train aditional towns folk in siege defense, voted through, training asigned to Baradeus.
Prepare aditional traps nearer the Castle, just voted through.
To restore Lempi to her former self to aid in the defense, unanimously voted down.
Send children from the village away to hide in the woods, just voted through.
Attempt to assassinate Koban before his arrival, voted down.

The debates were long and stretched into the night before the meeting came to a close and the preparations continued.
Brother Anthony Mortius descended to the courtyard, and found captain Radu and the Castle guard arrayed and awaiting his blessing.
Reading from his ancient tome he did address them. And they did soak up his words, before he blessed them all in turn, anionting them with a bloodied cross upon the head.
After all was made ready, all villagers but the children safely inside the lower levels of the keep, or aiding the watchmen and castle guards in the defense of the walls, the drums and horn of Voivode Koban's aproaching army were heard ringing through the vale, resounding from the very mountain tops.
His host arrived, Koban set it to encircle the face of Castle Toth and it's road.
The proud men of Toth stood facing them atop the walls, grim faced guardsmen in the livery of their Boyar and gleaming antique armour, and above the gates stood their Lord, fearsome in his Zulo Shape, skin turned a greenish-grey white, a full eight ft tall, and fangs turned monstrous and long like the black claws that exdended from his fingertips and the spines protruding from spine. Heavy black bearskin cloak still hanging from his shoulders and flying in the wind with his long dark hair and moustaches, he raised his great sword with a long musceled arm and roared the chalange of Toth.
And as the enemy began to beat their drums oncemore Volund Hrothgarsen did speak fiery words to the assembled men, aided by some of Gregoire's subtler arts, and they did cheer, and shout back their defience at the invaders.
At this pint Vykos, who stood behind the Company and Bodor, sugested a parley, but as Bodor turned to depart for the gate he stoped him saying that no member of the Toth family should go down, given the nature of Koban's grievance and his treacherous nature.
Baradeus and Brother Anthony volunteered, and so mounted their steeds and rode though the gates, taking care not to look upon the sigil of madness that Gregoire had placed there.
As they rode down two of Vlaszy revenant Knights, imaculate in their livery, rode out from the lines to meet them.
Mortius and Baradeus were gteeted politely by the knights and told they were to be led befor the Voivode. Obliging them, the two rogues followed.
They rode between lines of Koban's infantry and levys, the Vozhd growling in the distance, before coming to a group of monstrous Szlatcha that parted before them and the Revenants to reveal the curtained entrance to the palanquin of flesh, as they dismounted the curtain pulled itself inside.
They entered with some trepidation and through the lamp-lit darkness saw the the Voivode seated upon his throne, a chair of rich woods and set with prescious stones and with the still-living heads of fine horses as arm wrests.
The form of the nightmarish Voivode was that of a tall man, entirely hairles save for whisper-thin stalks of flesh sprouting from atop his smooth head, fluttering as like submerged reeds. He had five orifaces that doubled as both mouths and eyes: two on each cheek, one centered in his forehead, and one on the palm of each hand. Each contained an array of fangs and a tongue-like mass of overlaping hollowed muscle that unfolded like tulips to reaveal an eyeball on a stalk. He also wore a carved ribcage as another man would a breastplate. Though tall he hunched forward, hands clasped, his posture not unlike that of a praying mantis.
They introduced themselves and demanded his surrender, ha laughed and invited them to drink virgins blood with him from the carved skull of a Moor.
They accepted and a Szlatcha brought three carved goblets of bone hilled with warm mortal blood, they drank and words were exchanged, some cordial and some with threataning overtones. Things seemed to go well when Mortius complemented the Voivode on his tableware and Koban stood and gave Mortius his own goblet as a gift. Then Baradeus, free with his words as always, made the mistake of insulting Koban.
As quick as a flash, and before the Byzanite Ventrue could react, he sliced of his arm at the shoulder and burst out laughing, handing the arm to Mortius as Baradeus had collapsed on the floor.
Taking their leave they returned through the jeers of Koban's army back up to the Castle, and told of what had happened.
Shortly after ward they heard noises through the darkness and the men they had set to do so set ablaze the pitch soaked logs and rolled them down the slop before runing back through the gates which were shut tightly behind them. Koban's first assault had begun.
Charging armoured infantry surged up the hill, some making for the gate with a hand-held ram, others firing arrows and seting ladders against the walls.
The battle was furious, and twice men managed to get atop the wall, one repelled by the Zulo Shaped Boyar and his childe, Erzabet. The other attended to by the Itinerant Company, who savaged their oponents so thoroughly that they nigh all descended into frenzy, Mortius fogeting the battle to feast upon the blood of the slain, while others turned on their own side as Volund desperately tried to intervine.
By the time Koban's men rettreated down the slope scores of men ley dead od dying on both sides of the walls, staining the white gently falling snow red with blood.
Men pierced by arrows, choped and stabed by spear axe and sword, or burnt alive by boiling water and red-hot sand. Those who had tried to break the gates had even turned upon each other from the madness of Gregoire's glyph.
The Castle had been defended, but the cost in dead had been high, and the Voivode had comited only a small part of his forces.
But the sky was begining to lighten above the black peaks of the Transylvanian Alps, and the Cainites of both sides began to feel the call to slumber and rest.
For there was much blood yet to spill before the end of this fiendish winter...




Oh, and can everyone try to make it for 8:45 so we can start on time at 9:00 and get a desent session in. Cheers.