Gather ’round and hear the tale of Foxfire Ridge. A tale that nearly spelled the doom of the Fifth Legion and the rending asunder of the Great Allied Army. The cunning elves outmaneuvered the Southlanders and found their way to the very heart of the Allied forces. But fate, as it so often does, intervened in the form of a humble shepherdess, herded no less than the very winds of change with her flock. It was she who, with unyielding resolve, set her beloved paddock aflame, signaling the rangers with billowing smoke. Thus were the forty-three rangers brought forth, standing firm and steadfast upon the ridge for three days and three nights against the elven horde. Yet it was not these valiant rangers alone who turned the tide of battle. No, the true heroine of this tale is none other than that selfless shepherdess, whose name remains unknown. The rangers, in their gratitude, sought her name in vain. They could only pay tribute by calling themselves the Shepherdess’s Children, in honor of her bravery and sacrifice. – Knight Alonis, chronicler of the Great Allied Army, “The In-Between Stories of The Reclamation War”
RIN
“The Protector damn Marteen,” Rin swore as he ducked into a deserted restaurant. “What was he thinking with that attack?” The Edess Kul wasn’t stupid. As soon as Marteen’s insane attack on the trebuchets was pushed back, she followed up with a fast counterattack. Purist musket troops marched in companies down the main boulevard, stopping only long enough to kill whoever got in their way. Farther up the street came the ragged, throaty cracks of the Purists’ volley. It didn’t sound like the defenders were faring well.
“To his credit, Hero Madrigal’s plan did manage to destroy the trebuchets,” Morelli answered in a whisper. “They didn’t manage to crack the Aponte Wall. That’s got to have screwed up her plans.”
“It may have disrupted her initial plan, but it won’t stop her. If the Edess Kul can’t break the Aponte Wall, she’s going to use it like an anvil, with her good troops as the hammer,” Rin said.
“How do you know that?” Morelli asked.
“It’s what I would do in her place,” Rin answered. Why did the Edess Kul seem so familiar? They sat in silence as another two companies of Purists marched by. Another kilometer until the Purist camp. Then, find Shafford and deal with him. Maybe they could deal with the other Acolytes while they were in the camp. Rin peeked out the restaurant door. He looked up and down the street. Rin couldn’t see any more Purist musket men, but he heard the echoes of marching. The two rangers needed to get around the attack so they could sneak into the Purist camp. Grunting, Rin crouched behind an overturned table. Not the best cover, but it would give him some concealment if the Purists decided to loot the store.
“Those bastards are damned good for a bunch of religious fanatics,” Morelli whispered as they heard the Purists unleash another volley against the defenders.
“Yeah, but it sounds like our brothers are giving them hell,” Rin said as the higher pitched cracks of rifles replied to the volley. “They must be raising havoc among those Purists.”
“Will they be enough to blunt this attack?” Morelli asked.
“It wouldn’t be the first time rangers pushed back an elven attack all by themselves,” Rin answered. “We even have the less than fifty rangers against hundreds of elves.”
“I’m not sure our allies would like to be reminded of Foxfire Ridge,” Morelli replied.
“I have a feeling some of the Reclamation Army veterans will pick up the similarities all on their own,” Rin said. A series of deep booms stopped their conversation. It sounded a lot like heavy cannon.
“What under the Protector’s Eyes? Did the Capitol Army finally make it back?” Rin asked.
“No, I think the Purists got a bit too close to the docks,” Morelli said.
“Huh?”
“Our merchantmen aren’t about to let another Night of Fire and Blood happen again. That sounded like they just laced Dockyard Avenue with cannister.”
“Ah, that makes sense,” Rin said. He didn’t have much experience with artillery. Not enough to pick out the differences in the booms between the different types.
The front door banged open. Two Purists were silhouetted in the doorway as they swept the interior of the restaurant with their muskets. Morelli touched off both barrels of his grapegun. The two Purists went down under the hail of pellets. A third Purist stormed into the doorway. Rin took him down with a rifle shot. The two rangers retreated to the back of the restaurant as they reloaded their weapons. Dozens of musket barrels sprouted in the doorway. Rin pushed Morelli to the ground as the Purists fired. Already deafened from the grapegun and rifle shot, the muskets sounded like they were on the other side of the street. Rin emptied his revolver into the Purists at the door as the two rangers stood up and fled into the kitchen. Morelli kicked open the restaurant’s back door and quickly checked to make sure the alley was clear. They sprinted out of the building.
“Head that way!” Rin shouted pointing towards the Purist camp. Morelli nodded, and they sprinted through the back alleys of Lisandra.
