Siege of Gundabad RPG

[piosenniel]

CaptainofDespair’s post

The wretched cold of the North had harried the small outfit of Gondorian soldiers for many weeks, as they marched through exhaustion to Esgaroth, the last way point for the army, as it prepared to make for Mount Gundabad, last of the major Orc strongholds in the north. Supplies had begun to dwindle, and the soldiers began to hope to arrive in the Dale soon, to replenish what they could before their confrontation. Yet, it was not food and water that the troops hungered for most, it was woolen cloth, and fur, to give them much needed warmth, so that they could fight, and not become mere statues in an endless waste of snow and ice.

This host’s commander was a brutally effective combat leader. With many of Gondor’s more able northern commanders unavailable due to the winter storms that were common in the barrens that formed during the blight of winter, Uther was summoned by King Elessar to remove the Orc threat of Gundabad. He was given a mandate; return to Gondor with an alliance, no matter how tenuous, or return with the head of the Orc chieftain. The aging Easterner knew better, for he had many dealings with the Orcs in the past. They would never submit to the strict stipulations of the King. Yet, on his honor, he was forced to at least offer the terms to his enemies, in hopes of them accepting them. His only real option, was to attempt to defeat the Orcs, on their ground. He did not like this, but he knew it must be done.

The actual size of the force that was put under Uther’s command was quite small, and was not wholly equipped to a siege of a mountain fortress. He had only managed to gather enough equipment to construct either a single battering ram, or build two or three light anti-personnel ballistas. With only sixty-five soldiers under his command, and countless orcs holding the well fortified, and easily defendable Mt. Gundabad, the prospects of a direct assault were slimmed to almost nothing. And to counteract any plans of his, the supply line had been thinned to nothing. He would get no reinforcements. His last bastion of hope was Esgaroth, where his army was now camping. Hopefully, with a little monetary incentive, he could obtain enough supplies to last a few extra weeks, should the siege drag on that long.

The troops under his command, though embattled by the elements, and beleaguered by the fear of both the stout Orcs they would face, and of their commander, remained surprisingly hopeful that at least a sizeable number of them would survive. Their hastily constructed camp was enough to hold off the brunt of the winter chill for now, but it was not suitable for the comfortable living many of them were accustomed to back home in Gondor.

Yet, with all the climatic hardships that were now set upon the Gondorians, they persisted. Uther had always been a driven, single-minded man when it came to war, and so he brushed aside the chill conditions, and prepared himself to face his enemy. His mind was set upon victory, and he was numb to the price he might pay to achieve that goal. But for now, he was content to plan his assault upon the battlements of Gundabad.

The aging commander had laid out a multitude of rudimentary maps, siege warfare doctrine papers, scout reports, and numerous other reports gathered from locals who had experienced either the Orc threat, or the terrain near the Mountain. He sat alone in a hastily constructed field command tent, with only his two hounds for companionship. But this was the way he preferred it. He did not always enjoy the company of his men, for many were brutes, or of the poor peasant class, and he did not wish to indulge their high hopes that war brought all men closer, no matter where they came from. But he was one of them, and that is what frightened him most, that he had risen through the ranks from that distant past, to a higher standing. His past was a burden to him, and he kept it to himself as much as possible. Thus, he kept to himself, so as not to reveal such matters to those who should not be privy to such knowledge. He had been like this ever since he came to Gondor, and joined the army. And now he only continued his lie of a life, pretending to be something he wasn’t, for the sake of vanity. And now he was yet again and scheming away, cooped up in his tent like a hermit.