Part 43: Mission 44: Dragoth's Moving Castle

We'd managed to set up sporadic communication with Ka-Tugrag's unit, and they had begun relaying intelligence to us. The Veiled Ones shared little with their orc servants, however, which meant that even a general like Ka-Tugrag could tell us. One of the first things he shared was that Dragoth was titled The Master of Dragons. He couldn't tell us positively whether that was literal or figurative, but Dragoth certainly acted as though it were the former.



Meanhile, our research had yielded results. The high energy density of Archotral, combined with lightweight alchemical metals and efficiency boosting magic, allowed us to create a human-portable prototype jet engine



We had the parts to create improved battlesuits now. All that was left to do was put them together.



We also requisitioned and received our first MLRS platoon. With three qualified artillery units still using the aging AMX-30s, The Chivalric Order of Saint George was chosen at random to receive the new equipment. Our next mission would be our testing ground to see how the inclusion of rocket artillery changed the flow of battle.



Meanwhile, Malcolm's forces on the main fronts had finally made the enemy break and retreat. They'd launched coordinated and simultaneous attacks on all of the portals in and around major urban centers, fighting the enemy house-to-house until they could bring artillery in range to bombard the portals. They'd paid the price in walls of bodies and seas of smoldering metal, but the Forces of Darkness' deployment capabilities in eastern China had been all but destroyed. Now outnumbered and outgunned, Shen Tzu's armies had been forced to abandon their positions.



The Alliance's advance had halted so that they could resupply, along with consolidating and regrouping their battered forces. This left them with officers to spare, so we took the opportunity to form a complete chain of command for half of our units.



With our division strengthened once again, it was time to investigate the Colonel's reports of possible orc defectors to the west. We'd managed to exchange enough messages with Ka-Tugrag to work out a signal and response that would let orc defectors and Perhaps today we would have a chance to put it to use. Perhaps today, we would get the chance to use it.

Mission 44: Dragoth's Moving Castle

Attending:
Lazarus (Forlorn Hope, Flamethrowers)
Solrick Skaft (Scion of Emer, Flamethrowers)
T. Hinman (Ethereal Corps, Flamethrowers)
Logan "Hardtack" Smith (War Dogs, Paranormal Infantry)
Joe Moore (War Boys, Paranormal Infantry)
"Doctor" Snark (Mage Killers, Hi-Tech Infantry)
Habitually Red (Sane Max's Own, Hi-Tech Infantry)
Gordon Frohman (Concerned Citizens, Hi-Tech Infantry)
Patrick Gallagher (Just In Time, Elmag 2)
Svetlana Aliyev (Rusalka, Elmag 2)
Mael Radec (Radec's Rhinos, M1 Abrams)
Erik Spanner (The Toolbox, M1 Abrams)
James "Griff" Griffin (Party Crashers, M1 Abrams)
Basil (Paladin, M1 Abrams)
Jorji Costava (Cobrastan's Best, M1 Abrams)
Isara Gunther (Edelweiss, M1 Abrams)
Reginald P. Linux (Doom Squad, Leopard 2A5)
Aethereon Darkfyre (The Mary Sues, UDES)
Stephen Smith (The Counts of Monty Python, UDES)
Anil E. Hilated, Esq. (Polite Obliteration, M106)
Grand Inquisitor Solaus (Balkanian Inquisition, AMX-30)
Gregor (The Swell Swords, AMX-30)
Michael de Boulogne (Chivalric Order of Saint George, MLRS)
Cholmondely Featherstonehaugh-Smythe (Sphinx Battery, Roland)
Sigrún Raske (Skysmasher Brigade, Roland)
Roger Murtaugh (Less Than Lethal, Roland)
Billy Mays (Infomercial Men, Mi-24)
Bob & Doug McKenzie (Royal Canadian Red-greens, Mi-24)
Ragna T. Bloodedge (The Black Beasts, Humvees)
Vlasta Děvínská (Paper Tigers, Universal 2R)




Aethereon Darkfyre: I see orcs amassed before us, gathered like the endless armies of Sauron.
Ragna T. Bloodedge: Let's not be too hasty, Aethereon! We can't assume all orcs are bad anymore. Okay, I'm gonna use my headlights to give them the signal now. If they're Ka-Tugrag's, they'll cross their axes over their chests in response.



Ragna T. Bloodedge: They are, uh, not doing that. Instead they're lifting their axes over their heads and yelling... and now they're coming toward us.
Aethereon Darkfyre: As I expected, the dreaded tide comes to sweep us away!



Michael de Boulogne: Sounds like a perfect chance to see how they like rocket fire.




Michael de Boulogne: I don't think they like it very much!




Gregor: Gregor thought guns good! Wanting to get rockets, now!
Michael de Boulogne: They don't hit quite as hard as a Trantor-
Anil E. Hilated: Damn right.
Michael de Boulogne: -but their range is amazing. I won't be missing my old AMX.



Vlasta Děvínská: More orcs ahead, carrying modern weapons.





Michael de Boulogne: Nothing that can outrange rockets, though.



Vlasta Děvínská: Bridge ahead, with the Forces of Darkness flag. Doesn't that usually mean the place is overrun?
Stephen Smith: Usually. Pop up your radar, and Aethereon, have a look.



Aethereon Darkfyre: This side of the river has nothing but solitaryness and quietude.



Vlasta Děvínská: We know they don't have guns trained here, at least. Let's have another look with the radar.



Vlasta Děvínská: It looks like they've set up a small castle by the side of the road. Probably an enemy presence there. I'll do a few radar sweeps to see if I can pick up any... activity...



Vlasta Děvínská: Guys, THAT CASTLE JUST FUCKING MOVED.
Stephen Smith: Really not the time for jokes, Vlasta. That's my department anyway.
Vlasta Děvínská: Do I sound like I'm joking? That fucking castle is coming right toward us! I didn't even think the enemy could make something this big move!
Stephen Smith: ...Alright everyone, we are getting right the fuck out of here. Except you and me, Aethereon. We've gotta cover their retreat.
Aethereon Darkfyre: We perish together, then?
Stephen Smith: Not if I can help it.



Aethereon Darkfyre: The Colossus' guns send fire down upon me, like the fire God sent upon Sodom and Gomorrah!



Stephen Smith: Jesus, he's not kidding! I've got a visual now. The side pointing toward us is nothing but a wall of guns. They've probably got a battalion's worth of weapons on that thing.



Mael Radec: Smith, Darkfyre, sit tight and hold position! We're on our way.



Stephen Smith: Floor it, guys! A volley from the corner turrets was all it took to torch most of Ragna's 'vees!



Aethereon Darkfyre: I can see the light... farewell, my friends...
Stephen Smith: Aethereon, shut up, pull back, and get your tanks fixed.



Stephen Smith: Got it held up at the bridge now! I'm not budging 'til one of us is dead.



Anil E. Hilated: We're here! And we're making sure it's them instead of you!



Mael Radec: Tanks up, form a line. As soon as it's in range, hit it with everything you've got!



Isara Gunther: Christ, it's like I'm getting an entire armory dumped on me!



Basil: What do we aim for? I don't see any weak points!
Erik Spanner: Just shoot it until it dies!



Reginald P. Linux: I think we're hitting it pretty hard! A portion of the wall just collapsed!



Michael de Boulogne: Rocket fire doesn't even scratch it. Just what is that thing made out of?
Erik Spanner: It's magical bullshit. It's always magical bullshit.



Gordon Frohman: Not anymore. Now it's a rock pile.
Svetlana Aliyev: Gotta pity the poor bastards responsible for clearing that off the highway.
Lazarus: Think we'll be running into any more of those things?
Joe Moore: I think not. At least, I hope not. Not sure what we'd do if they can mass-produce those things. As far as I know, no one else has reported seeing them. Maybe we got lucky and crushed their only prototype.



Vlasta Děvínská: Let's find out, shall we?



Vlasta Děvínská: I see what looks like a storehouse to the north. I think this is the base the orcs were raiding - or pretending to raid. Might've been a trap, come to think of it.
T. Hinman: Pretending to be a friend so they can strike when your guard is down? Who would do such a despicable thing?
Stephen Smith: One thing's for sure, we'll be making them pay for that. Let's get a view from the top of the hill.




Vlasta Děvínská: Found 'em! Looks like they're operating out of this base.



Vlasta Děvínská: Alright, everyone come on up. We'll need to make this quick, they've got a lot of rockets ready to fire our way.



Patrick Gallagher: Okay, it looks like almost everybody's in posi-




Mael Radec: We've been spotted! If you can hit back, do so, but don't pass the top of the hill!



Reginald P. Linux: Looks like they're not having any trouble keeping their endless hordes heavily armed. Hopefully that'll change now that Malcolm's boys are storming their cities.



Gregor: Does not matter! Rockets will not save them!



Michael de Boulogne: Quite right, Gregor. Rockets will destroy them.





Anil E. Hilated: See that? Three companies, three volleys. I'd say gun artillery still has its place.



Anil E. Hilated: ...That said, I don't really like being on the receiving end of this.
Solaus: Only things they have with the range for that are Mammoths. We've gotta find 'em!



Anil E. Hilated: God damnit, there's two of 'em.
Mael Radec: Anil, fall back! We can't afford to lose you!



Anil E. Hilated: Someone's gotta take that thing out! We can't survive two of them bombarding us!



Anil E. Hilated: That's about all I can do with half my unit down. Rest is up to you guys.




Solaus: Take out the closest ones first! Their artillery can't hit us without their spotters.



T. Hinman: Hmm. Note for later, human armor is not flame-resistant.



Griff: There's too damn many! We're not gonna be able to take 'em out before their artillery can hit us again!



Gordon Frohman: Thank God for these battlesuits! We've even survived a few close-range explosions with them.



Anil E. Hilated: Shit, they've still got sight on me! I'm losing guns left and right here!



Anil E. Hilated: I'm... I'm still alive... barely, though. Gonna need you guys to cover me while I see how many of my guns I can get back up and running.



Gordon Frohman: Jesus, Anil. Is it just me, or have we been having way too many close calls lately?



Joe Moore: Still going better than the last campaign. All the same, I can't imagine Command's going to be happy about us losing so many vehicles.



Bob McKenzie: Hey guys, we just finished our tour of the Chinese countryside, and we're happy to tell you that you didn't miss a thing!
Doug McKenzie: ...Looks like we missed a lot though, huh?
Michael de Boulogne: Just a bit. You see any weird-looking, smallish castles while you were out there?
Doug McKenzie: Didn't see any castles, why?
Michael de Boulogne: I'll fill you in during debriefing.



"Doctor" Snark: Most of their AT defenses are down! Now's our chance to take out that Mammoth!



Isara Gunther: With pleasure.



Basil: Hey, don't look at us like that. It was all we had in range.



Reginald P. Linux: Why are they even still fielding this obsolete crap?
Erik Spanner: Maybe it was on clearance at Trogworths.




Patrick Gallagher: Look at that, we've just about cleaned the place out!



Isara Gunther: That's great and all, but can we deal with the thing that's been the only actual threat for a while?



Billy Mays: WE CAN, WITH THE POWER OF THE HIND!




We may not have found Ka-Tugrag's forces, but with our control over this area established, our contact lines were becoming safer and more reliable. Our improved communication channels were giving Ka-Tugrag a chance to prove his conviction by feeding us intel about enemy troop movements and locations. While many in the Alliance were still loath to work with an orc, the tide was beginning to swing in favor of cooperation.

That strange mobile fortress, of course, was a cause for concern. A single one had been enough to nearly wipe out the UDES sent to stall it before help could arrive. We'd been looking into developing a new form of Archotral engine with enough propulsion to develop a new type of superheavy tank, but it seemed that the enemy had beaten us to it. How many of these did the enemy have in reserve? How many were already on their way?