Yun Nan country side

[Vice-General Dravin]

The lands of Yun Nan, including the river and the bridge that skirts the border on the main road to Yong Chang. (field map).

[Vice-General Dravin]

Containment

The region of Yun Nan was put on alert and the main roads placed under watch. Elements of the rest of Dravin's army held watch points on the main roads out of the area. Commander Zonia was sent into the field to track the trespassers.

She was dispatched with:

400 horsemen
100 Knights of Geshtain
200 Spearmen
400 Footmen
100 War Dogs


The band went to Ijiero's previous camp, using it as a starting point. Scouts were sent in all directions, heading to the nearest settlements to ask the peasants for news of their movement.

"I want the hounds on their trail as soon as possible" Zonia ordered.



The hound masters quickly began to sweep the area for the troops scent. The camp was checked out before they moved in, a few men going in to make sure no ambush awaited. Zonia sat on her horse as the hounds and men searched the area. It had only been a few days since they left the area, but she was sure something would remain behind to point them in the right direction.

"Commander!! We have something!"

"What is it, private?" She asked, moving to a fire pit that one of the men had used.

The hounds were restless, and pulled their chains. Zonia bent to pet one of them, the beast nudging her hand gently. She and Dravin had helped train the beast, for they were bought and bent to war time duty after the last battle of Yun Nan. They were fed human flesh and trained to kill on command, as well as follow the scent of humans. They were meant for missions like these.

Zonia looked down at the hound master's find: a discarded piece of cloth, which looked to be a torn shirt. The hound master let each of the hounds on the leash he had sniff the cloth.

"Excellent, now spread the cloth to the other dogs and began a triangulation search pattern until you pick up the trail. Meanwhile we will coordinate with the advanced scouts." Zonia ordered.


She enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, as was eager to be on her way. The men moved out around the camp, with groups of the hounds. Ten minutes later they found the scent trail on a path through the woods. They would have missed it if not for the hounds leading them to it, but sure enough there it was- a path made by the feet of many marching men. They also found horse waste, and added that to the scent trail.

"Prepare to move out!! I want a vanguard to move ahead, keep your eyes open!"

[Ijiero]

Ijiero who had set out with his army first thing in the morning had a head start, yet had to lug around supplies with his army while Dravin's men could just move out and rely on a supply base or supply route of some sort, making them move faster then him.

His army consisted of:

200 Conscripts
200 Polemen
200 Hunters
200 Horsemen

all terribly demoralized, unable to find their way around the regions wilderness. "Look at us", Ijiero scowled, "hunted like dogs, no where to run." Yet, he kept on hoping that he could find a secluded place, away from anyone so he could plan action and at some point make his move. It all seemed pretty far away right now and would probably never be accomplished at this point in time. After several hours of marching, they'd find their way out of the woods running into a small setlement near a river. "Great", Ijiero exclaimed, "maybe we can get something to eat here." Ijiero rode down to the village and approached one of the locals.

But as the talking commenced, the rearguard which consisted of about twenty horsemen came running from the forest. "The enemy is coming", they shouted. "How many", was Ijiero's question as the rearguard came closer. "Double our cavalry and almost double the infantry, we stand no chance." Ijiero's force morale suddenly dropped below zero. They hadn't eaten for half a day and now had to go head to head with a much larger enemy force. "Don't despair", Ijiero shouted, "I wasn't planning on fighting anyway."

Ijiero rallied his force to him and spoke: "Split up and all of you go to your respective rally points. Try to blend in with the locals as much as you can. I will wait here for the enemy and try to stall them. If you get caught, don't fight them." This concluded Ijiero's small speech. His men quickly took something to eat from the locals their gardens and ran of in all directions. First in groups of 200, then 100, 50 and 10 in the end. In groups of 10 they'd find their way to where they had to go. Now Ijiero only had to wait for the enemy at this village.

He would wait outside of the village, near the forest edge, ready to surrender to any troops who would emerge from it. The only thing he had was his horse and halberd. If an enemy came close, he'd throw down his weapon and dismount.

[Vice-General Dravin]

The search team moved cautiously down the river, the hounds hot on the trail. Zonia was close behind them, on horse. She took out a map and studied it for some time.

"Ah, Myria this direction leads to a small river village." Zonia spoke to the green haired Japanese woman.

"They will no doubt try and take refuge there." The stern voice of Myria responded.

"No doubt....I hope for their sake they have not harmed the village. Otherwise a diplomatic ending will be hard to come by." Zonia spoke, almost to herself.

"Commander, the is village nearby. What are your orders?" A solider reported.

Zonia turned to Myria: "Take most of the cavalry east and head north to the road that leads to the village. Wait there, and act as back up." And Zonia handed her the map she held, and she and her horses were off.


Myria and 300 horsemen moved through the forest to head to the road, to place themselves in a flank position and to hold the road. If anything went wrong they could aid the village or ride back to the main roads and call for aid. Meanwhile Zonia went to the village, with all of the Knights. The rest of the army held back; while groups of the foot men spread out through the woods on the sides of the villages, expanding the flanks.


Zonia rode on horse at the head of the advancing Knights. She wore her Knight armor, which was green and red in design. Her head was bear of armor, showing her tight braided hair that was less then shoulder length and slicked with oil. Her uniform armor was the same spider weave design as Dravins, but cut for her womanly features. He facial expression was one of concern.

The column passed by an old man fishing at the river bank, and Zonia raised her hand to halt the troops.

"Pardon me, sir. Have you seen any outsiders here recently?" She spoke in Nanman dialect Chinese.

The old man looked up, and responded casually: "Yes I have young lady, not an hour past. They are hiding within and around the village; though they have done no harm. They are weary and hungry."

Zonia nodded, and told the man: "Very well, thank you kind sir."

And the men moved on. Zonia smiled ever so slightly as they moved. She knew the village would be loyal, especially to her. Zonia was always very polite to the peasants and they respected her, though they feared her wrath for it was equal to her charm. And now, at the edge of the village her force halted again. For standing there was a lone man with a halberd. Zonia commanded her men to hold ground and they did so; standing at attention with the front rank of the men placing their edged shields into the ground before them and standing ready for orders. The Knights of Geshtain was the ultimate personification of discipline.

Zonia rode out to the man, alone.

"Thank goodness we found you!!!" She called loudly in Latin as she rode near, her sword undrawn and one hand on her reins, the other on her riding crop."I was beginning to worry you were lost in the wilderness! We were expecting you at Yong Chang as guest, for surely your men are tired and in need of good hospitality."

Zonia paused, waiting for a response. Her words seemed genuine enough, void of threat or malice at the very least.

[Ijiero]

Ijiero eyed the woman carefully and sighed. "The general Dravin sends a woman to capture me", he asked loudly so everyone could hear, "he must either be the geatest coward ever, a fool or a master genius." Ijiero twirled his halberd around for a moment before stopping and throwing it to the ground. "He didn't seem like the first or second, so I will submit", Ijiero continued before dismounting from his horse. He'd approach her on foot, before tying his horse to his halberd that was stuck in the ground.

"I am the rebel you have been searching for", he said coldly, "please bring me to your capital for execution, for I plead guilty. Pleading anything else would only end in torture." He'd then drop down to his knees, looking down at the ground. It was obvious that Ijiero had grown up in a world where corrupt Romans ruled with an iron fist and nothing could change his point of view, the result of being scarred at a young age.

[Vice-General Dravin]

Zonia raised an eye to the man, as he spoke, for she did not expect such desperation. She looked at him, her expression one of reflection, as if she too were remembering a tragic past.

"You...are mistaken. You are no outlaw, nor rebel in the sense you speak. We were unsure as to your intent, but that is clear now. The High Father wishes you as a guest in his home, for though he is stern and merciless to his enemies his heart is full of love for people that are oppressed." Zonia said, her words true and heartfelt.

A long moment passed and she dismounted, looking him square in the eye.

"The General sent me to find you because I am his second in command. It is my job to carry out his orders. You will find that in our land wealth, race,gender, and birth do not dictate one's destiny. Here, a person is free to advance themselves based on merit. I should know, for when I was a child I was nothing more then sex slave in Aquitania. My body was all I was good for, now I am a valued officer." Zonia trailed off, at the memory.

Zonia bent down and picked up Ijiero's halberd, and held it out to him.

"Take your weapon, and come be a guest in my house. This is not Rome, nor is it China. Not anymore."

[Ijiero]

Ijiero frowned as the halberd he had tied his horse to was placed into his hand. He suddenly realised that this woman had otherworldly speed as he was sure that his halberd was stuck in the grass at least 15 feet behind him and his horse was tied to it. For her to move to the halberd, remove the tie, return and give the halberd to him in less then a second, she would need to have moved faster then sound. Obviously a fight was out of the question, since he'd lose before he even heard her attack.
(missed somewhere Dravin? )

Ijiero grumbled something beneath his breath while still on his knees. He continued to use it to get up from the ground, rising to look into Zonia's eyes. "We will see", he said, turning around a split second later, stepping back towards his horse and mounting it. He slowly approached the woman while on horseback and said: "I will visit your capital, but only if I am persuaded by your people will I visit your lord. If I am not then I will leave your lands and find myself another home." He then turned his horse around and stepped out of Zonia's way. "Shall we", he asked kindly yet remaining serious.

[Vice-General Dravin]

dravin said:

Zonia bent down and picked up Ijiero's halberd, and held it out to him.

((((((nah, I did not miss anything. By stating that I bent to pick it up, obviously whatever time it took to to acquire it , I would have spent, since I did not say anything about how fast I did it. ;D Natural law of realism would take it's course as it was not a combat situation. ))))




Zonia nodded and left with him.

"You can bring all of your men, they are welcome at the festival, or they can rest in the barracks of Yun Nan and enjoy a good meal and be free from more marching, I leave that up to you." Zonia told him.


They rode north up the roads, past villages and cities. Zonia handed Ijiero two maps. One was an old Song map, one the Order bought when they first came to these lands, the other was the current one.

"You will see that the two maps differ greatly. This land was once nothing more then a fringe land of Song; neglected and exploited. Now it is home to a proud, industrious people. "Zonia spoke to the visitor.

"You will find- " Zonia started to continue on, but was interrupted by a rider.

"Commander, urgent word from Yong Chang!" The rider said with a rush. " Cheng Du is being attacked by an unknown force from the North, and the General request you make haste to Yong Chang!"

Zonia sighed and turned to Ijiero.

"You see now why we reacted the way we did? Ever since we have built a land where the rich and corrupt have no power, forces of all kinds have moved in to try and take it away from us."

The column of men moved on, at a quicker pace.

"If I know the High Father, he will not post pone the festival, unless the attack is dire. Which I do not think it is, otherwise the General would have mobilized the rest of his army by now...." Zonia spoke softly, clearly disappointed at the turn of events.


Zonia moves north to Yong Chang, with her force of

400 horsemen
100 Knights of Geshtain
200 Spearmen
400 Footmen
100 War Dogs

Zonia did not know what events would unfold next, but she hoped that her guest would find some manner of comfort in the Capital, for it really was a marvel now, a testament to a cosmopolitan and socially equal way of life. The Gauls would find no poor people in the streets, no crime at night, and every man woman and child had a purpose, and they were happy. More happy then the area ever has been; despite the harsh, bloody take over that Geshtain had orchestrated.


(move to Yong Chang city for further Rp please! )

[Ijiero]

"Would you mind me accompanying you to this 'Cheng Du'", Ijiero asked, "The way a person fights tells me more about them then how they act outside of battle." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Of course, you can tell me not to watch the fight", he said confidentally, "but if that is the case then I am leaving your land, and the path takes me straight through this Cheng Du, north." Ijiero wasn't going to let this pass him by. It'd only be impossible to meet up with his forces if he went north. He'd go and meet with them later on.

[Vice-General Dravin]

Zonia listened to Ijiero's words, thinking. She agreed with him, but she did have orders.....

The dilemma of protocol was solved by the sound of a familiar voice calling over the sound of a trotting horse.

"Indeed! How a man kills and dies speaks more then how they live, yes you shall be my personal guest on the battle field for Father Geshtain has summoned me personally." The voice of Dravin called.

Zonia had a look of relief on her face as she made way for the General.

"Commander, please return to Yun Nan and command the garrison there, treat our guest well! " Dravin ordered Zonia.

"Yes Sir, it shall be my pleasure. Until we meet again Ijiero !! " Zonia called out to him, and she rode off.

The question of rather or not Ijiero's army would follow was answered by the fact the troops Dravin had brought with him were now escorting the Gauls back to Yun Nan. Of course a small personal guard would be allowed to come with Ijiero, as was the custom of the time.


"It seems you shall be able to fulfill your earlier promise to defend our land sooner then expected, for your halberd may be needed if you wish to follow me in battle, for I command my men from the front." Dravin said, smiling.



(For rules purposes, my listed army is heading to Cheng Du as battle reinforcements, but Dravin and a guard of Knights of Geshtain ( I believe Conq 11 personal guards were allowed for personal travel), and Ijiero and up to 11 of his men are riding ahead to Cheng Du , so we can join the battle. This way he won't miss the fight waiting on my men, and I do not expect to use my men anyway.)