Canonfire! - Omnipotent view - Crossing the Veng

In this story, an army of humanoids and agents of Iuz crosses the Veng to assault Grabford. Their advance scouting force is led by the self-proclaimed genius Melbrug the Crusher.

Richard Di Ioia - aka Longetalos

Planting 5, 596 CY.

Melbrug the Crusher of the Red Tusks tribe was very happy this day. After many years of waiting his tribe was finally back on Furyondy soil. The Red Tusks were defeated at the battle of Grabford and but a few dozen were able to retreat eastward to the safety of the Iuzian lands. Since that time, the Red Tusks have grown in strength and now number over five hundred humanoids. Melbrug also grew in strength in those many years, fighting his way towards a leadership position in the tribe. It helped that his ogre ancestry enhanced his orcish cunning by granting him strength advantage over the smaller orcs.

What few realize is that Melbrug was a philosopher at heart. Sure he was a veteran of the wars of conquest led by his god Iuz. And much like others in his tribe, he did eat many of those he killed. But he also liked to take time and think about the small joys in life. Like how the shining sun perfectly lights up the red blood of the peasant family his squad recently killed. Just looking at the small plump child brought a lump to his throat about how good the child was going to taste with the small pouch of seasoning he stole from a farmhouse earlier in the day.

Of course, it would not do to show the two dozen orcs he led his deep and thoughtful side. They were not intelligent enough to understand and would think him weak. Oh well, when he asked to lead the scouts he knew that with great honor would also come the tediousness of working with inferior orcs.

This time the plan to conquer Grabford was flawless. For years the difficulty lay in getting across the fast moving Veng in any strength. Orcs are notoriously bad swimmers, especially because they refuse to remove their armor or weapons, and the few boats they have were never sufficient to cross quickly enough to set up a strong force on the west bank. The Furyondy flying scouts patrolling the river always saw the large massing of troops and naval vessels intercepted them in mid crossing.

But this time, the military minds within the forces of Iuz found a way across. They decided to build a suspension bridge. They knew this would be a one way trip for the troops crossing as the first Furyondy caravel to patrol the Veng would destroy the bridge. But the abandonment of hundreds of orcish lives was a loss the Old One was willing to take. With the assistance of the Shadow Claw over the previous winter, the tools and components needed were already hidden on the western side. Late one night, the final steps were put in place. Using undead to cross the bottom of the Veng pulling massive chains, followed by the teleportation of a few hill giants and engineers to the western bank to build the supporting structure, the Iuzian forces were able to set up the temporary suspension bridge across the Veng. Finding the narrowest width of the Veng south of Grabford, the bridge was slightly over 200 meters long. It was barely designed to carry troops across with any confidence – but it worked. Crossing at a rate of roughly a hundred troops per hour (any more would have endangered the bridge) hundreds of orcs, orogs and ogres crossed the Veng during the night and early morning. By the time the bridge was destroyed the next day by a naval strike force out of Grabford, the Red Tusks and their allies were on Furyondy soil.

Now that the Red Tusks were on Furyondy soil, their task was simple. Raid northwards in the direction of Grabford. Burning, pillaging and raping along the way, always allowing a few to escape north to warn the defenders in Grabford. They were to entice the warriors in Grabford to come out to do battle. Then when news would reach the tribe that the Furyondians were on the move, the tribe would flee south towards the Plains of Despair. There a hidden ally was creating an army of undead to ambush the Furyondians. As the Furyondian troops arrived at the Plains, they would be crushed.

Meanwhile a secret northern army was to move south and attack Grabford directly. The northern army was so secret that the Red Tusks did not even know who led it, which tribes are part of it or even how they were to cross the Veng in secrecy.

Once their tasks done in the south, the Red Tusks would move back north and help in the sacking of Grabford. With many of the Furyondian warriors slain by the Red Tusks and their undead allies in the south, Grabford would shortly fall!

Melbrug thought splitting the defenders into two parts was such a brilliant plan. It was like when he divided the defenders in a caravan when raiding, only on a larger scale. Melbrug was amazed nobody ever thought of doing this before. Even if the humans could anticipate such a complex strategy, they had to leave their fortress to defend their people. Melbrug saw no way the plan could fail. Godlike thinking like this was why he served Iuz.