Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-5543592-20150615234235/@comment-5583506-20150617222339

"So... five more men", said Mystara in an attempt to cheer her lord up.

"Mhm", mumbled Arngrim beneath his beard.

She could tell that he wasn't pleased with the result, but at least he had about two or four hundred more men to anticipate within the coming weeks. The beginning of his own army.

"I still reckon that you would want to visit Falkreath though?"

He nodded in reply. "No matter how many men I manage to gather though, it still won't be enough to take on the Orcish legions. Perhaps weaken them, yes, but if we have to fight them head on, we won't stand a chance."

It was unlike Arngrim to admit to certain defeat. If anything he usually kept the possible results of a war to himself.

"As soon as I have a strong enough force, I will begin to attack them where they are weakest. I will attack their provision transports, their reinforcement troops, I will put their siege machines to the torch, I will burn bridges and block paths. Greater wars have been won with lesser means, Mystara. And to win this war we will have to let their army bleed. With no support from Orsinium, they will eventually starve, their morale will fall, and eventually they will disband and scatter."

"But, my lord. These are Orcs we are talking about..."

"What of it? Race has nothing to do with it. Strength and ferocity won't matter when you have to devour your own fallen comrades because you are starving. Even the strongest foe has a simple weakness, a weakness which I intend to exploit."

She couldn't do anything else but to trust in what he had said. The Bull had fought and triumphed in many battles over the years. During the Civil War he had manage to repel an army of Imperials ten times the size of his own force with simple tactics, letting some of his footmen march head on into the fray, while he and his cavalry made a courageous charge from behind, taking the Imperials by surprise. The attack had resulted in a cleavage in the Imperial army in which they were divided into two lesser armies, whereupon his footsoldiers could easily surround them and take them out, with the cavalry still pushing on the Imperials' back. In the end the army had totally disbanded and escaped over the hills, back to Cyrodiil. Arngrim hadn't even lost half of his force, but the enemy had lost almost seven out of every tenth men they had. People had every right to fear the Bull. He was as much of a commander as he was a tactical genius. If anyone could have a chance of standing against the Orcish invasion, it would be him.

But then again he didn't have an army of over thousands of men behind him now. Right now he had a force of just over a hundred, and even then morale was low. If the Enforcer had been true to his word, Arngrim might be able to gather just over five hundred men. Nothing in comparison to the legions of the Orsimer Empire. But if Arngrim had a plan on how to force the Orcs into submission, she had no doubts that it would work. She had seen it in his eyes. If he managed to repel this invasion, he hoped that they would restore everything he had lost. And he intended to get it back by any means necessary...

"We are getting closer to Falkreath", he stated. "Tell the men that they can rest up here. Eat their fill, have some wine, make love to wenches. Whatever pleases them, just as long as they are ready to head out in the morning."

"Understood, my lord", she said with an affirmative nod.