As the Viking longships arrived on the scene, the Imperials rallied the marines from their ships and lashed their wallowing craft together into a fighting platform. Only one heavy ramship remained at sea and operational. The initial onslaught of the Vikings saw some success. The Imperials were pushed back and seemed to be standing at bay. They assumed a defensive posture while they sent up a peaen to their Gods.
Grettir led the crew of the Sea Raven into the fray on the enemy flank. Grettir, with Jason and Ubaron, and supported by Paradoxides formed the head of a wedge of Sequarl troops. Trevillion and Girindor used their bows to deadly effect. They met with stiff resistance from the Imperials. Many later reported the presence of large, inhuman creatures with the heads of beasts amongst their opponents. Nevertheless the Sequarl forces triumphed in their section of the field and wiped out the unit with which they were engaged. Ubaron cut down their Centurion, while Grettir slew the standard bearer and seized their standard. However, looking up at the rest of the conflict he could see matters were going ill for the vikings, who were beginning to break and run back to their ships. It was plainly time for the Sequarl contingent to make a tactical withdrawal to the Sea Raven.
He looked around for in vain for Thorkel. It was the elf who pointed out into the bay, where it appeared that Thorkel’s longship was playing tag with the Imperial ramship. The high winds that still lingered, were allowing the more seaworthy viking craft to just keep out of its clutches. Grettir acknowledged to himself that it was not an unreasonable tactic. Who knew what ill the ramship might have done to the viking longships clustered around the battle-platform? On the other hand, another eighty elite vikings and the King of Telemark to direct and rally his warriors might have seen a different outcome to the battle. Grettir might have made the same call, but he was surprised at Thorkel. It seemed likely that Skirmir’s sword fancied itself a tactician.
The Sequarl forces retired in good order to the Sea Raven, picking up some Telemark stragglers on the way. Jason expended a lot of alchemical fire covering their retreat and left several Imperial ships ablaze. Miraculously Grettir’s crew had sustained no fatalities – the benefit of winning the field. Several, including Adhils, were severely wounded and had to be carried, but there was nothing that the healers could not deal with once they got under way. Grettir and Jason had both taken healing potions during the fight. Girindor was out of power but Ubaron had conjured a wind into a bag. This he now released to fill the Sea Raven’s sails as they steered a course for Telemark. Other longships joined in their wake and took advantage of the fair wind.
En route, the magicians fiddled with the artefacts stripped from the centurion’s body. Given their experiences with the Hand, they were unsurprised when his notebook burst into flame on handling and Paradoxides managed to save most of it. It was a codebook – interesting but of no immediate use. He had a number of artefacts that they determined were communications devices, and keyed protection amulets. They guessed that it allowed area of effect magicks to be deployed by squad mages that either excluded or exclusively targeted their wearers. They also examined a stash of documents that Trevillion had looted from below decks on one of the light ram ships (once he’d run out of arrows, he said), along with an ancient imperial astrolabe. On a quick scan through the documents the company were amused to discover that some of them had codenames. Grettir was the Ace of Spades; Paradoxides the Ace of Hearts; Girindor the Ace of Diamonds. However, it was troubling that the Imperials seemed to know so much not only about Telemark politics but also about themselves – almost as if they had anticipated that Grettir would become involved.
Samuel examined the legionary standard and said that it was an ancient and powerful relic sacred to An-hur. He said that during the battle the Imperials had sung some sort of death hymn and that Anubis and An-hur had responded and intervened directly on their behalf. He had found himself unable to access his own powers aspected to either god. Grettir muttered that only last year he had rescued a sacred statue of An-hur and set up a shrine in his honour in the Temple at Sequarl. Samuel responded that the Imperials had probably just cashed in centuries’ worth of prayers and sacrifices to the Gods. The power of the standard was concentrated in its finial in the shape of a sphinx. It was probably eminently easy to detect so it was put in a lead-lined box and then in Grettir’s Bag of Holding. Grettir said that it would be housed in his shrine of An-hur in Sequarl.
On the rest of the journey home Grettir mulled over the outcome of the battle. The Imperial fleet had been put out of action and all but destroyed, and the Legion’s progress towards Telemark at least delayed and disrupted, giving them all the more time for them to prepare their defences. In truth, had the Gods offered him that result at the beginning of the day he would have bitten their hands off for it. However, they had come so close to complete victory that he felt quite disappointed that it had been snatched away at the last. He also regretted the loss of life amongst his allies. Nevertheless, sensible politics dictated that they sail in with heads held high and declare a mighty victory over the foe. He called for his skald, Rune Injalf who was on the Sea Raven, and bade him compose a song about the battle. They could hear him composing and practising below decks. It portrayed the day’s work as a glorious if bloody victory; it did not stint on recounting Grettir’s deeds and those of the crew of the Sea Raven.
Powered by Ubaron’s mage wind, the Sea Raven was first back to port and he delivered this version of events, first to Ella and then more widely. Ella questioned him closely about her husband’s deeds and also where he was. Grettir was careful not to let any note of criticism creep into his account of Thorkel’s actions and he was upbeat about his return in due course. There was nevertheless a nervous twenty-four hours before Thorkel arrived with half a dozen other longships in his wake. Grettir was sure to welcome Thorkel at the quay and mutter in his ear about the need to be upbeat, but Thorkel had evidently had the same thought. He was a little shame-faced at his less-than glorious part in the battle, but Grettir reassured him that it was the right course for him him to have taken.
As soon as the dawn arrived, and his powers were refreshed, Girindor flew off to spy on the Imperial fleet. He returned at dusk saying that the fleet would sail no more. The legionary contingent had arrived and they were now constructing a fortified camp nearby. Grettir thought that necessity being the mother of invention they were making the best of it by building their camp where all their supplies lay marooned. He guessed they would have preferred to be closer to Telemark. Girindor said that he had seen flying carpets and cavalry patrols. He had stoked the winds back up to hurricane level and left them to face the storm. His reconaissance group of elves were keeping an eye on the camp and he would return in the morning.
So the men of Telemark had taken something like fifty percent casualties, unless more longships were to limp into port over the next few days. The Imperials had lost their fleet and lost something like a third of their sailors and marines (Thorkel thought half and Grettir did not disagree in public). Grettir’s stock in Telemark was sky-high, especially once Rune-Injalf got to work. Girindor, the wind-mage was like to become a legend for the generations. Ubaron teleported Grettir to Chittagong, where the King was delighted at his news. “The Imperial Fleet sunk and the only casualties on our side are a bunch of vikings. What’s not to like?” He still saw no immediate threat to Chittagong in the potential fall of Telemark to the Legion. Chittagong was simply too large to be taken by a single legion. Grettir was not so sure. The Legate was full of surprises and laid his plans deep. He misliked the idea of the Legion controlling a large deep-water port so close to the Otanga estuary. The King was very happy for Grettir to continue to do what he was doing, but he liked to retain plausible deniability in the matter and would send no official Chittagong troops. He would however, send supplies to assist them in preparation for a siege. He was also happy for returning ships to take non-combatants back to Chittagong, should the warriors of Telemark wish to send their familes to safety.
G-23
OE Date: May 695
Characters: Grettir, Paradoxides, Ubaron, Jason, Trevillion, Girindor NPCs: Samuel, Rune-Injalf, Adhils, other crew of the Sea Raven
Real World: October 2011; Where: Surbiton
See also Ubaron’s Diaries