Jest of Spring Potrero A.S. XLII
By Baron Malcolm AlbericRRE
Only a scarce three months had passed since returning from our campaign in Atenveldt, when a messenger with news of the attack arrived. An unidentified fleet was attacking Calafia’s coastline; a large number of ships had sailed into the Bay of Calafia and was laying siege to the harbor. The rider reported that by the time he had been dispatched the few royal navy ships that were caught in the bay were either sunk or captured.
The assault had been well planned. The Atenveldt blockade of the Colorado had forestalled shipping and trading such that it was taking many months for supplies to be restocked. Besides the teeming Barony of Starkhafn, many other lands and people rely upon the river trade to provide both necessary and luxury goods; granaries, ship-yards, and warehouses all were either bursting to capacity or nearly empty by the time the blockade had been lifted. Trading with Artemisia had never been more profitable, and the Calafian harbor had never been so empty.
Urgent action was needed, yet it would not be easy. First, the Atenveldt campaign had taken a heavy toll on our Dreiburgen Irregulars; many were still convalescing and could not be called upon to take up arms. Second, ships would needed for a maritime defense. I was uncertain as to the location of the La Villa A Broka. I had last heard from her quartermaster, Lord Damashi, that he was in Starkhafn. This probably meant the La Broka was anchored in Lake Mead, also the location of Lady Cáelfind’s ship, Drago di Scarlette. By the time they received word and sailed around Baja Caid it would be too late. The Skull and Compass was most likely on the far side of the world exploring new lands, and as for the Gray and Montrose merchant fleets they were at sea somewhere along the Colorado between Lake Mead and the Gulf of Caid.
In spite of these difficulties good fortune managed to smile on me. I found myself in a tavern drinking with His Lordship Conan MacPherson, a noted warlord and officer of the elite band of mercenaries known as Legion. Legion has quite the reputation and usually fights for the highest bidder; over the years I have fought both beside them and against them. I know which I prefer, so naturally my ears perked up when he mentioned that they were currently unemployed and casting about for a contract. Of course I seized the opportunity and offered Conan a lucrative proposal he could take back to the men.
With Legion secured the next business was transportation. The plan was a two-pronged attack. The bulk of the Caidan army would march cross-country to retake the harbor by land, which is where I sent Dreiburgen’s main supply column. The rest of us with seafaring experience would go by ship to retake the harbor by sea.
After securing nearly every boat on the river, we sailed down the Saint Ann to our rendezvous at the New Port. Every ship in the harbor had volunteered, been hired, or been commandeered. Most were merchant ships and only lightly defended, so the Caidan Royal Artillery Corps was hastily making modifications to as many as possible that might be able to carry extra artillery. After determining which ship Dreiburgen would be using, I assisted Lord Draco in mounting balistas on her fore and aft castles. Once the modifications were finished the troops boarded the ships and we set sail for Calafia.
The Bay of Calafia forms a very large natural harbor in which over time many piers have been built. Our strategy was to retake the harbor by securing several piers simultaneously. Combined with the land attack, this would force the enemy to spread their army too thinly around the bay. Each ship in the fleet was assigned a pier. Our vessel, being a smaller merchant ship that was a recipient of C.R.A.C’s quick handwork, was given a small pier nearer to the harbor mouth as our target. The enemy had formed a blockade across the bay, so our first order of business was to run it. The captain did not care for the plan, arguing that his ship was not built for battle. However, he knew his duty to the Crown and ordered his men to run out the booms. With favorable winds and full sail the fleet made best speed for the blockade.
The men of Legion stood ready, while Lord Tomaso and Lord Fergal manned the engines. The instant we were in range both engines let fly; the fight was on! Engines and archers exchanged rounds as our ship drew closer and closer. The crash of falling wood and rope told of a hit to our rigging, and the bow started to turn. In a desperate attempt to correct our heading, the captain shouted orders to his men, but it was too late; with the sound of splintering wood we struck an enemy ship.
As our hulls ground together, our foes immediately tried to board us as our men valiantly fought to hold the deck. The enemy ship was larger than ours and carried a greater number of troops. Despite our best efforts, we were being overrun and all looked as if to be lost. Salvation came in the form of a barrage from a nearby royal navy ship that left the deck of our aggressor in ruins.
We swiftly cut the boarding lines and the captain’s crew reset as much sail as possible with haste. The blockade was broken, and we made a run for our objective. That’s when we spied another enemy ship heading straight for us. We had sustained damage to our rudder, and a portion of our rigging was gone, making maneuvering out of her way impossible. I found myself feverishly passing ammo to Tomaso as we launched a barrage at the oncoming vessel. Although much damage was inflicted by our missiles, it was not enough to stop the ship from plowing into us. The sound of creaking wood and splitting timbers was tremendous, but not quite as loud as the cursing of the captain.
Chaos ensued as we fought to stop this second boarding attempt. The deck was covered with wreckage and blood, and many enemy soldiers had forced their way onto our ship. Our situation looked bad. It was at that moment another officer turned to me and asked, “Have we struck?” I looked to the rigging; it was so damaged that our colors were lost to the eye. “No”, I replied, “we will hold this deck and complete our mission.”
Just then the remaining sails caught the wind. The sailors had been working above the battle as it raged beneath them, managing to reset enough sails so that with the breath of the breeze, we started to swing away from the enemy. With no more boarders pressing the attack, we were able to dispatch the intruders on our deck. Our enemy now was engaged by two others of our fleet, and unable to give us chase.
As we continued to the pier, we were afforded an excellent view of the land offensive. Our troops were making the invaders regret setting foot on Caidan soil; however, a large enemy force was guarding the pier, and it would not be easy for us to regain it.
As I stood considering our options, the captain strode up to me and announced that the hull was leaking. “I don’t mean to rush you into the proverbial lion’s den, but if I don’t beach her before the tide goes out she’ll sink for sure.” “Great”, I thought, “I hate fighting on a sinking ship. I hate it almost as much as I hate fighting in a burning ship”, but I did not tempt fate by saying this out loud.
By now the pier loomed before us. Tossing out boarding hooks, the sailors lashed our side to the wooden structure. The royal artillery started pummeling the enemy line as our troops poured over the rail onto the narrow walkway. Conan held Legion in reserve. I could tell his men were itching to get into the fight, but he pointed out to them that the pier was already crowded and more men would just get in the way. “Don’t worry you’ll get your chance”, he promised them.
Taking the pier was a long and tedious affair. I stood on the aft castle watching as Widow Maker systematically destroyed the enemy’s reserves, all the while listening to the captain grumble about the capacity of his bilge pump and complain about how long it was taking. In the end luck was on our side; we managed to take the pier and go ashore without committing all our men.
We detached the artillery and carried it ashore, allowing the captain enough time to beach his ship before the tide went out. Now it was purely a land campaign. For the most part the plan had worked. Many ships loaded with troops reached their objectives and over half the harbor was ours again. The sun was kissing the horizon, and dusk would soon be upon us. Both sides retreated; the fighting would resume in the morning. We set up a watch for the night and retired for the evening. Dreiburgen had established a camp just outside of town. Good food and good company was exactly what I needed before returning to the fight in the morning.
Waking to the sounds of the camp kitchens preparing breakfast, I arose, threw on a tunic, and sounded the wake up call. I made sure that all the troops were up, and instructed them to eat a hearty breakfast. Muster would be called soon and it might be a long time before the next meal.
Reviewing the reports from the night watch, I learned that all enemy forces had abandon the harbor and retreated into the town. With its defensive walls, the harbor town would be easier for them to hold and harder for us to (breach?). It was shaping up to be a long day. I called for muster and marched our small band of irregulars to the gates of the town where we joined with Legion. Dreiburgen would be assisting the C.R.A.C. I told the men that their job was to make sure that the artillery was safe from attack. The orders were given, and we all settled in for a long drawn out siege.…and long it was.
For some reason many of the generals of Caid do not like to attack fortifications. This is evidenced by the fact that in most cases when the Caidan army comes to a defended wall or gate, we stand back before engaging and let the archers snipe at each other until they run out of arrows. This time was no exception. Hours seemed to go by as archers used up their arrows and the royal artillery hammered the walls, firing blindly over the top. It wasn’t until ammunition ran low and the archers could gleam no more arrows that a brigade moved in to batter down the gates.
Once the gates were down the royal artillery let fly with all their remaining ammunition. The defenders in the gateway were decimated, and our army charged in like a flood. It was time to turn the men loose. I turned to Legion: “Now’s your chance men. Go, do what you do best!”
With their defenses down and no more ammunition, the artillery’s job was done. It was now time to mop up. The men of the C.R.A.C. left the engines and took up their personal arms to join the battle. Lord Fergal and I entered the town to find absolute chaos. There were no battle lines — skirmishes ranged all over, up and down streets, in and out of shops. Fergal and I charged up the main street. We formed on Legion’s left flank, joining the push to the center of town.
The fighting was fierce. We would break their line and push them up the street. They would regroup and push us back down the street, we’d redress our line and the cycle would repeat. Back and forth we went, over and over again. The situation was frustrating and the longer it continued the more ridiculous it seemed to me. Why did they continue to trade blows? They had lost the harbor; they had failed to keep us out of the town. Their fight was now hopeless; having lost their defensive position they had neither the manpower nor the resources to take on an army on its own soil. Their failure to negotiate surrender was absurd.
The back and forth struggle continued, but with each exchange we gained more ground than we lost. We finally managed to push them into the town square. There we were joined by other brigades, each having fought their way to the square by other streets. We formed new lines and clashed with the enemy one last time. This last engagement was brief; our foes just melted before us. The front ranks fell, and all the rest retreated and scattered. Before we knew it there was no one left to fight. The invaders were defeated. All that remained was tracking down and rounding up what remained of our routed enemy, a job for the Calafian troops and the regular army.
I dismissed Legion and ordered Dreiburgen to assist the Royal Artillery in collecting their engines and returning them to camp. That evening I met with Conan and paid Legion handsomely for a job well done. Afterwards I returned to camp, where a feast was held in true baronial style to celebrate our hard-won victory.
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