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Zoltar- Leader of  Crimson Shadows

Swift- leader of sea gulls and spoofed by Rufus

Tiny- Fox, very tall evil fox

LOG:

Zoltar sent a messenger, a quick runner and then waited.

It wasn't too long before Tiny, the tall fox, came with most of the beasts he had been in charge of." Is it wise to leave no one in charge of the seaport?"

Zoltar just smirked," I can tax the village." He spreads out his arms at the sea." We can make this a sea port, much better too.Maybe even make a dock."

Swift watched the vermin quietly , his flock nearby but he would not attack, no he needed the perfect time to strike.

Tiny folds his arms over his chest." You have to get the mountain first, you have plans?"

Zoltar smiles" One was getting you here, those hares and that badger won't stay inside for long, bound to come out, we also can attack at night quick and fast."

Swift flies off to the flock." We helps long ears soon...but only to make the badfurs go way, far way or better yet death to badfurs, then we get back to normal life again."

Tiny shrugs, "True, but you also need to try and take out officers, ones that look important.Hide and take aim at the gate when one passes and simply fire. " He nods to an archer who slips closer in the darkness,waits for movement and fires.

The archer is rewarded with a yelp, and some arrows fired back,one barely misses.

Zoltar grins. " Wounding them is good as well, wounded beasts don't fight as well."

Tiny looks at Zoltar "Your wounded, are you not?"

Zoltar hisses, ears back.His wrist tightly bandaged, he had no feeling in his paw but could move it a bit better now." And the best who did it,paid for it with their life." Or so he believes.

Tiny shrugs" What ever, maybe a lucky shot hmm?"

Zoltar shakes his head." I had the badger surrounded, it would of died, yeah maybe took some of my beasts with him, but even a badger Lord can't fight off 75 beasts at once, also had 4 archers to fire arrows, he would be dead now..but he escaped cause of a stupid random archer on a sand dune. I can still fight and I have my WHOLE horde with me now. Victory will be mine.The seer said as long as that one cub was with me,  I would fail...he is gone so  victory  WILL be mine." He smiles coldly." I just have to wait. It will be worth it."

Who:

Zoltar- Leader of the Crimson Shadows

Cole- Private in the LP( Spoofed by Oz)

LOG:

Zoltar ate some scones, sea gull eggs he found and an unlucky seagull was lunch.

There was captives,  villagers and one hare, which likely  pleased Zoltar, or….maybe it didn't.

" Why do you have me all alone, like why not keep me with the villagers ya have huh huh.  And you are so gonna lose, cause like evil loses..usually." The private went on." Wot ya want of me?"

Zoltar smirked." I'm gonna send Lord Ciocan..a gift. "

Brutus yawns as he gets an ale." So when do we get the mountain boss?"

Shadowlight  shakes her head." We could have had a fort, or boat but the fort burned down...lucky the docks only got slightly blackened in one small area." But she is curious.

The 30 former villagers were getting tatoos of the Crimson Shadows, well..21 was...a couple said no and died and others died in the fight.

The hare laughs." Ha ha...Sarg Terrence totally told us to finish burning the fort..ha" He grins at the wildcat ." Course I can't  swim too well and you never know what's in the water at the docks, I mean like eeeeeeew." He hmmms." Wait why send his Lordship a gift, not like he wants one from an insane kitty."

Zolomon rolls his eyes." What's your name hare and yes...a gift,your head."

Shadowlight drinks down an ale." I want to see his face for that gift."

Brutus chuckles." They lost half the hares here..and a Major was among them."

The Private hmmph. " I am Private Cole, not twin brother is Private  Slaw and….my head, that's like disgusting...like gross, his Lordship would seriously not want that. He probally charge you with his war hammer in paw and that's like a large hammer , I'm talking  VERY large and has this badger head on it, made of stone it's not a real badger head, I mean his Lordship is not gross like you, like good grief kitty. You should let me go, letting me go is good...then maybe you think I am valuable..ha me important,  well maybe I am..Private Sally I think has a crush on me...wonder where she is...hey do you have a girlfriend? A mate?"

Zolotar ears go back as he slams a paw against the cage." Quiet...or else." He walks off and sits down to speak to his horde." We have 465 beasts now, I need a 100 to make an ambush for the badger,  hid...he will die and the hares of the  Long Patrol will lose any possible hope they have left and the mountain will be ours "

Shadowlight nods." I will look into it right away Master  "

Cole blinks." Kill  Ciocan ? Yeah right..he's a badger like Hallo..giant war hammer and all that. You likely lose those 100, ha ha...and the mountain is stone. And like full of….stone tunnels, hmm Ciocan  should so paint them, like stone here and there and all over,  kind of boring wot . Hey you never did answer  me, you like have a girl..or does that scar like scare them away.  You should totally wear a patch or something, yeah or maybe not...ha and Major Varus gave you a black eye like go Major..ya man...Varus is cool, grumpy but cool and never get on his bad side...he gets so grumpy or guess its was so grumpy.  Maybe the other hares annoy him or did...and the fort was so so so boring,  you should rebuilt it, I could give ideas..maybe red, you seem to like red,  that like your favorite  color." He stops and.." Mine is green, green is nice..any of the vermin like green?"

Shadowlight frowns and decides to leave as the hare starts getting annoying.

Zoltar's ears flatten." DId you talk non stop to that Stripedog too?" He snorts and mutters." No wonder they left you behind."

Cole just laughs." Non stop? I don't talk non stop and hey that's mean. Then again your a evil warlord suppose your suppose to be mean." He frowns." I need to use the bathroom...like really bad. :

Zoltar hisses and goes to reach in to claw the hare.

Cole jumps back." Whoa man, your so stressed out, your gonna get grey hair..stress can do that man. Stress is like bad. You should relax or take a nap, naps help or a walk, then again walk on the beach isn't all that exciting really so maybe not. Also I'm hungry, wots ta eat here? I mean it's a tavern or do you know how to cook, I would but Old Pete and he is like super old. I think a couple hundred seasons.well maybe just 100...I once made food for sentry  and he claimed I tried  to poison him, can ya believe that..I mean I dislike him but I wouldn't do that and the cook once said my rolls could be stoned to use in battle...whoa I wonder if Terrence used any of those or not. Oh Terrence has a girl or think so...but she is like missing and..stuff, he probally gonna look for her first and me later...the nerve of him...ya know. He and others are like Cole...you and Slaw are so annoying,  it's so rude I am not annoying." He looks at the cat." Do you think I am annoying?"

Zoltar looks ready to pull his fur out, the hare's and his own. " SILENCE!"

Cole holds his ears." You're loud.Did you know that, good grief you need a serious cat nap."

Zoltar snorts." Your lucky the monitor is dead or I would be feeding you to him"

Cole makes a face.." You should wot?!...ok that's dim, like he could eat fish...is that why ya had like almost 700 vermin, to have snacks for the monitor like your a bad leader if that's the truth..like good grief man...like take deep breaths in and out, in and out..like this...see easy. Your feel better in no time!"

Zoltar hisses and his tail wags behind him as he glares at the hare." I be doing Ciocan a favor killing you, you annoying hare don't  you ever shut up?"

Cole hmms." Well when I eat or sleep,  least don't think I talk in my sleep, supposedly I snore a lot but how does one know if they snore or if they are lying cause...you know your a sleep and……" on and on and on.

Zoltar finally gets out one of 4 sleeping darts, places it in a blowgun and sends it at the hare 

Cole shakes his head. " Now Slaw oh I can tell ya so-------" He then is silent as he falls onto the pile of hay...out cold the dart in his leg.

Zoltar sighs in relief. " Thank the seasons, that is the most annoying beast ever to cross my path." He then walks out to clear his head, and plan...he needs plans and maybe some stronger ale as now he has a headache.

*Had to redo log, a lot of poses were lost and Terrence sent me the last part of the log where it was messed  up, so thanks Terrece! And now here is the complete log where Halyard Falls!**

LOG:

It was past dusk. All seemed normal, like any other night. A couple sentry hares stood by the village path, one side leading to the docks,the other side the village itself.
" This is boring, I mean nothing, we have seen nothing. Sally. "
The hare maid shrugged at her friend and chuckled." Well we could just nap or get a snack Nate."
As they talked they missed movement, slow movement that showed skill and training. Then a tall Wildcat came out of the shadows, an evil grin." How about a nap, a permanent one" A snap of his fingers and the two privates were quickly outnumbered, 600 vermin.
Private Nate paled and got out his saber shaking. Private Sally looked ready to bolt and sound the alarm.
" Kill them."
It was over in less than a minute. The two Privates had no time to do anything before they were dead on the ground. Zoltar grinned and nodded. Half went towards the village and half to the docks.
Zoltar and the Crimson Shadows had arrived!

Brutus had went ahead and managed to find a small group of his friends, just 15 but thats 15 more vermin to be fighting the Lp and villagers."Come boys the fun is just starting."

Jaws smirks, he was more the charge and listened to surprised beasts scream, like a couple otters caught off guard, one got away from him and the other didn't.

Terrence had not been able to sleep that night (as seemed to be his norm) and stood now on the wall - opposite those sentries cut down by the vermin. The work around the village had been going slower than he would have liked, and far from complete.

"Greenhill?" He asks the corporal on watch nearby, "What time is it?"

"Two, maybe three hours past sunset, by my reckoning, sergeant. Guard'll change in an hour.''

Beginning to nod, the master-sergeant's ears twitch as the sound of over six hundred beasts clattering through the north streets, and there's a moment's hesitation until the first scream. "OI!" A pit formed in his stomach as he shouted back at the fort, grabbing a spear and banging it on a wooden barrel. "WAKE UP! ATTACK! ATTACK!"

The screams and shouts had roused John suddenly, who rolled onto his back and hopped up with a groan, standing alone up atop a nearby house roof. Grabbing his crossbow nearby, and tightening his sword belt, the squirrel leapt to another rooftop, and another, and he could hardly be seen through the torchlight below or heard above the din of the horde.

Shadowlight chuckled, this was fun to her as she set a home on fire, just for fun and killed those inside..she knew she couldn't do much home damage but she had to do least one.

Donica quickly got up and grabed a sling and spear and got ready for a fight that was sure to come soon.

Varus emerges from the Officer's Barracks, half-dressed, and busily fastening the buttons on his uniform. He had just turned watch over to Terrence about an hour and a half prior, and he'd be damned if he let the enemy catch him with his pants down. "SOLDIAHS, ATTACK! THEY'RE BREACHIN' TH' BLOODY WALLS! BARRICADE TH' DAMNED GATE! WE MUSTN'T LET TH' FORT FALL! GET TO IT!" He draws his trusty sword. "Let's 'ope we brought enough 'ares," He mutters to himself.

Zoltar grins at the panic." I love chaos." He smiles." A couple horde beasts do fall into a half dug pit and others back up. He has left Shadowlight in charge of taking the village,  he focuses on the fort." Prepare to die fool hares!"

The horde is skilled and NOT the everyday vermin.No this is a skilled group of fighters.

Brutus helps  lead other horde beasts into the village"Attack! Kill if needed...but keep some alive Zoltar will need workers for his village!" Of course some villagers are ready to fight, others who are not as strong or maybe young are not so ready and look for a way to flee.

Jaws slashes  at any foe he comes close to, most beasts quickly stay clear of him!

"ARCHERS, SLINGERS," Terrence bellows, rushing down the wooden stairs as fort garrison comes out - half then hares had been sleeping, the other half enjoying their night and a late meal.

"I NEED SPEARS IN FRONT," The master sergeant reaches the ground, running to the open gates (and pas the major), "COMPANY B, FOLLOW ME OUT - WE'LL HOLD THEM WHILE THE REST PREPARE THE GATES UNDER MAJOR VARUS' ORDERS," He takes a breath, picking up a spear, "And hopefully protect any villager come fleeing our way."

A  bolt would fly past the big wildcat, hitting one of the vermin nearby.

With curse John leaps to another roof, slinging the crossbow over his shoulder and drawing out his sword and buckler. Some of the villagers were rallying together in the main square with any weapons they could find - planks of wood, clubs, the town watch with their spears and short swords, and they were quick in moving carts, crates and anything else that could feasibly halt vermin in the alleyways and streets.

The squirrel hops down among them, throwing his lot in with them - and he jumps atop one of the make-shift barricades to hack at the first ferret who poked his head over.

Donica  is a little scared, this is worse than those slavers she seen a few seasons ago.But a deep brath hoping the vermin horde won't get inside the base.

Varus can see the horde coming toward the gate, even as Terrence and his group head out. A few of the hares are already trying to close said gate, and once Terrence is through, Varus yells, "SHUT IT! SHUT IT, DAMN YOU!" They try, but the horde is likely already on the threshold, so it becomes a struggle to force the wooden doors closed against the onslaught. If the gate is breached, the night will be lost.

Shadowlight is busy in the village, a couple foxes fall dead beside her as she snorts. It would seem most of the hares are at the base.One however was at the Tavern, A Copral by the looks of it, and one that quickly finds out this was not the best plan for him.But he will do his best to fight.

Zoltar grins . His warriors fight, and he has a few archers at his side.He looks up at the hares.He makes a motion with his tail. It appears some strong  foxes and martins have a battering ram." Knock it down! I want to see my new base!"

Zoltar just smirks as  40 hares go to block the gate and draw his twin blades." A challenge, good." He nods to about 50 of his horde." Take them out if needed..now!"

Several hares fall to the enemy arrows, and Terrence raises his saber. "Let's answer that with ou'h own, lads."

"FRONT RANK, KNEEL!" The front rank of spears kneel down, protecting those behind.
"SECOND RANK, DRAW SLINGS, KNEEL!"
"THIRD RANK, /LOOSE!/," The whistle of stones and arrows are about them, and the closest vermin are hit by the deadly volley. "KNEEL!"
"FOURTH RANK, /LOOSE!/" The last line hares release their arrows into the front of the horde all at once, and-
"SECOND RANK! STAND, LOOSE! KNEEL!"
"THIRD RANK, STAND! LOOSE! KNEEL!"
"FOURTH RANK...." And so on.

When its clear the main force of invaders are heading to the fort, John lowers his blade - the bodies of several creatures who were forced to challenge him one on one littering the ally-way. As no more dares to approach (or rather they were order to help with the assault on the fort), the squirrel withdraws back over the barricade, looking at the mix of hares, woodlanders, and vermin defenders. The mayor was nowhere to be seen.

"Och, right mess o'thin's, an'nae mistake, aye." John mutters, before hopping atop a barrel and filling his lungs with air,
"YE LOT, LISTEN HAER!" He shouts, "WE CANNAE HOLD AGAINST THEM, NO' HAER, BUT TH'FORT, AND TH'HARES - WE'LL HAVE BETTER LUCK THERE! STAY ORE RUN IF YE WISH, AND AH DONNAE BLAME YE, BU' THOSE WHAE WONNA HELP FOLLOW ME!"
The squirrel hops down, waving his sword, and the majority of the defenders follow him to the docks- those that don't head off south, to the mountain.

Zoltar narrows his eyes as his horde beasts back up a little,but he is not losing this easily." Fire!' It is literal flaming arrows,  a couple sail over the wall, a couple land on the wall as he grins. Yes he lost 10 more but the hares lost 10 more as well.

Brutus slays villagers as he goes along, it
would seem Halyard is in not as good a shape as the LP base, Halyard is falling!

Jaws backs up andgets a spear to the tail and shoulder,he growls and grabs one hare by the throat, slaying them quickly and uses his tail, even if it gets torn up by those spears, to slam some hares backwards if he can, he should at least get some pushed backwards.

Donica frrowns now and gasps as she sees the flaming arrows,"That..isn't good"

Shadowlight just shrugs, less villagers then less of a fight, the village will soon be under the control of the Crimson Shadows ."Some of you...see if Lord Zoltar needs help..some stay with me"

Satisfied that the gate is protected, for now, he mounts the steps to the walltop, where Sergeant Wilko, the hare he had brought along for the inspection tour some days ago, is overseeing the archers up top. "KNEEL! And... STAND! FIRE!" The Sergeant barks, echoing the commands from below. However, three hares have already been hit by return fire. One is dead, the other two bleeding. "Medic, we need th' bloody medic up 'ere!" Varus yells. The whole situation is incredibly chaotic, but so far injuries inside the fort have remained at a minimum. Should that gate go, however... And then... The upper pallisade erupts with multiple fireballs, killing two more of the archers and severely burning Wilko. The Major's jacket catches fire, and he beats at it! "KEEP FIRIN' THOSE DAMNED ARROWS!" But the upper walltop is now a flaming mess.

Zoltar grins. " Battering ram now!." He has some archers fire at the same time, one has a flaming arrow fired off.

Regardless of the losses inside the fort, the company of hares in front are in rough shape - or at least their front rank is. The spears strike out still, wounding Brutus, but now the company's hope lies in their volley fire.

Terrence voice is nearly hoarse by now, but he still stands and screams out, "THIRD RANK, LOOSE! KNEEL!"
And again, "FOURTH RANK, LOOSE!"
And once again, "SECOND RANK, STAND, LOOSE, KNEEL!"

The bodies of vermin are pilling up in front of the ranks of hares, and they still stand against the gates - the battering ram will have to go through them and their many stones and arrows.
"THIRD RANK, AIM AT THE CARRIERS! LOOSE! KNEEL!"
"LOOSE! KNEEL!" The master sergeants shouts again and again, and the hares let loose their stones and arrows into the front ranks of the horde again and again.

"/HALLLYAAAAAAARD!"/ The defenders had reached the docks, yelling out their battle cry. The squirrel leading them, though, was silent, though leading the charge into the side of the vermin.
The roof of the Officer's Barracks is alight, and the medics are tending the wounded. The archers from the walltop are forced back, as the fire consumes it. Wilko is out of commission, and Varus is running out of options. There's only one way in or out of the fort... They must defend it, or die trying. Why haven't reinforcements from Salamandastron arrived yet? Surely they can see the smoke from the chaotic destruction. "Harmann, Stewaht, Bilsey, an' Pieter... Yahr wi' me. We must guard tha' gate... Wi' our lives, if we 'ave to... Yahr the best swordbeasts still in th' fort... C'mon!"

Brutus goes to help fight any villagers coming to the base, and bring horde reforments to Zoltar"Crimson Shadows...kill, fight!"

Shadowlight fights with her group to take more control of the village, anyone who don't escape is....well captured.

Jaws forces his way past hares to help get into the base.

Pvt. Konner, with three other hares, are attempting to put out the fire with the best water-bucket-chain they can manage - as were their orders in case a fire ever broke out (regardless of attacks or not).

"DONICA, IF YA'D LIKE TO LEND A PAW!"

"OI! FERRET!" John breaks his silence, making a beeline for the stoat with the many defenders behind them - there's at least sixty village beasts left able to fight, but that's nothing compared to the six hundred.
Yet even so, out numbered as they are, the squirrel cuts through several vermin, using his buckler to defend himself and punch any he can't get with his blade - his armor protects him for the most part, but a deep gash had appeared on his chin.  Hopefully this new push alleviates Terrence's company for a few precious moments…
....It does help the company of hares, now with three quarters of their number left still able to fight - the rest dead or wounded around them.
"FOURTH RANK, LOOSE!" Terrence still calls, having grabbed a spear from a fallen comrade and stabbing at any creature coming close to the ranks.
"SECOND RANK, STAND, LOOSE, KNEEL!"
"THIRD RANK, STAND-' But the monitor leapt forward, and was suddenly amongst their number. The master sergeant stumbles back, bringing the butt of his spear to smack against the lizard, and corporal Greenhill, who had been in the third rank, draws her saber with the other hares to attack the monstrous creature.
But the volley fire had been stopped, and now there was little hope fo the hares starting up again.

Brutus arrives with some help now, also around 30 or so villagers who seem to have teamed up with the horde, oh lovely.

Donica is helping a couple of the wounded hares now as she speaks "Doing the best I can sur, the other healer we have is dead!"

Varus perks his ears. He could hear Terrence's volley orders over the din of the fray, and now those yells have... stopped. "Harmann, you take left flank... Bilsey, y' take th' right! Stewaht, th' rear, an' Pieter, you flank Stewaht... Everybeast else... Fan out, form a line be'ind us five. Medics, get th' wounded out through the boat'ouse door! Quick! Swim out, make f'r the shore, an' make 'aste towahd th' bloody mountain! This is our last stand! Make it count, "

Jaws meanwhile circles the hare know as Greenhill and grins..."Are you...Lunchzzzzzz?" The monitor is already wounded fairly bad now, and the gate is about ready to burst open if it hasn't already!

Zoltar cackles, yes he is at 500 beasts now, he lost 155 and that included some random ones he had jion up." The village is mine! Your base is going to be mine and soon your stupid mountain fortress!"

"REFORM THE RANKS! REFORM!" Terrence's is frantic, throwing his spear to skewer a ferret, and sweeps out his saber.
She grimaces, stabbing forward with her saber at the lizards belly, regardless of the danger to herself- and the other hares do as well with their blades. They're distracted and scattered by the lizard, and try as he might, the master sergeant cannot get the ranks to reform.

Konner, meanwhile, with wide eyes, hears the major's orders, and drops the bucket and falls in line after the major. The fort is blazing now.

The  creatures who join the horde have not gone unmarked by the village defenders. "FAITHLESS AND ACCURSED!"

Someone calls out, and feuds which had boiled for seasons finally come to bear fruit; there is a viciousness to how the defending beasts fight, slaying any of their neighbors who took up arms against them and the Long Patrol.

John takes the head off another beast, having lost sight of Brutus, and he glances back. "WITH ME, YE LOT! HELP TH' HARES - TAE TH'FORT!"

As far as he can tell, the hope of the villagers defenders (and his own) lies with meeting up with the patrol hares, and that's what he attempts - leading the remaining defenders who will listen to him, around thirty or so, to cut a path to Terrence and his hares.

Jaws goes to leap at thehare's throat as the spear they have sinks into his chest.He hisses and spits blood and goes to clap onto Greenhill's throat before he dies,if he is dying so is the hare!

Zoltar paces and slashes at one of the fighting helping the hares. The battering ram gives one last slam into the gate.

Varus has just thirty hares. The five swordsbeasts flanking him, and 25 in a row behind. The rest, he's ordered to flee out of the burning boathouse. "Alright, lads... That gate's gonna come open soon. I 'ave faith in you all, but we're vastly outnumbahed... If any o' ye decide t' flee, do it now... I'll not 'ave a cowahd in mah ranks." None of the 25 breaks rank, and Varus nods. The rest of the garrison is evacuating, and the wounded have been placed into a boat, as they take off into the sea, following the Major's orders. "Unblock the gate, Harmann, Bilsey..." They look at him like he's insane, but follow the command, rolling the wagon back out from where it was wedged in. And with that, the crossbar cracks in two from the force of the slam.
.
The lance-corporal barely had time to step back, but her fate was sealed - yet even as the jaws closed around her the saber was sunk deep into the monitor, the point sticking through him and out his back. As the two bodies sink to the ground, the remaining hares, around twenty now of the original forty-five which had exited the fort, felt a wave of panic wash through them- and so did Terrence. The ram had reached the gate, and there was little hope of taking it back - but the doors open.

"QUICKLY! TO The MAJAH!" Terrence raises his sword once again, and the hares snap out of their fear and rush forward to join Varus. And so do the defenders.

John reached the hares, and the squirrel rushes to the ram and brings his blade down in a mighty stroke to cleave the closest creature in two, and the now twenty defenders with him join the majors force. "Och, NEED T'GET BACK INSIDE WE DO!" He shouts over the din.

"SAH!" Terrence gives a hasty salute with his saber, "We need to fall back to the mountain - I'll volunteeh fo'h the rearguard, and hold out here as long as I am able-" The master sergeant has been fighting constantly, and it shows - he and the rest of his hares covered in blood, whether their own or some beast's else is hard to tell. They're exhausted, beaten, and battered, but they still stand and fight.

Zoltar grins as the gates open, yeah your seriously outnumbered Varus as Zoltar steps forwards and nod." Your base is mine...fight, die, or maybe live to serve me!" He snaps his fingers, the last stand is now for the serious outnumbered hares!

Varus yells over the din, as vermin stream in the fighting begins anew inside the fort this time, "YAHR WI' ME, AN' THESE FOUR. EVERYBEAST ELSE, STAHT T' MAKE F'R TH' BOAT'OUSE DOOR! ESCORT TH' TOWNSFOLK OUT! TAKE 'EM T' TH' MOUNTAIN!" The 25 stand their ground, their swords clashing into the foebeasts', as they attempt to hold the line so the rest can evacuate. The boathouse is ablaze, but the door is still clear, so beasts are jumping into the water and swimming away, as fast as possible. Other take whatever boats remain, but most are on fire, too. Varus is soon slashing and hacking at vermin, and taking various cuts and bruises, and his four flanking hares also fight for their lives. Varus knows the fort is lost. This all so the rest can flee.

Donica helps the wounded get to a boat
and looks back at the base, a frown as she as no clue who will get out alive and who will not. She gulps and gets onto the boat. There is still a couple boats others can use as well.

Jaws indeed dies,the hare dies, with Greenhill still clapped in his jaws.

John marches up to the master-sergeant  and Major, but not before turning to Zoltar and raising two fingers of his paw in a /very/ rude gesture that  the cat certainly can see framed against the fire. He'd look the younger buck up and down then, shaking his head. "Nah, th'lad's barely standin', Ah reckon - Varus, were it? Ye an' me, let's draw swords together, aye?"
He waves his sword in the air, lowering it at the horde leader.
"ZOLTAR! YE WEE KITTY, AH'M COMING FORE YE, IFIN YE'RE NO'COWARD ENOUGH TAE RUN!"

Zoltar ears go flat." You and this old hare...are fools...I have killed two badgers on my little trip, and would have killed a badger cub..but the monitor ate it. good riddance..." He smiles." Maybe I should let ya fools be slaves...kill ya in front of de stripedog ya serve...ya..then slay him too!"

Shadowlight is soon beside Zoltar and looks at the hares, at the squirrel and smirks, and most of the Crimson Shadows is here too.

Terrence looks from Varus charging to the squirrel following the major, nodding slowly. "Guess that leaves me to lead them back to the mountain, then." He mutters through his teeth, loathe to seemingly abandon his major. But he turns.
"YOU HEARD THE MAJAH! EVERYONE- KONNAH, DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT JOINING VARUS!" The private had tried to follow the major out with his spear, ready to fight to the end - but Terrence's paw had stopped him.
"QUICKLY NOW!" The master sergeant called to both hares and defending villagers, "GET TO THE BOATS, THROUGH THE BOAT HOUSE! /MOVE!/"

The fighting is brutal, and several of the hares in the line behind Varus fall to the enemies' blades. Pieter, as well, is unfortunately stabbed through the heart, and he collapses in a heap, dead. He nods to the Squirrel. "T'is good t' have an ally... Though I'm gonna 'ave t' insists y' get the 'ell outta here." The wounded are gone, and the hares not actively fighting, as well as what townsfolk remained, have also fled. Varus yells out, "FALL BACK! THE LOT O' Y'... GET OUT, FALL BACK' T' TH' MOUNTAIN." The 25 hares, of which only 17 remain, start to pull back toward the boathouse, to make a somewhat disorganized retreat. "TERRENCE, FALL BACK! GET OUTTA HERE!" He raises his sword to Zoltar. "Yahr just a pathetic cat. I've killed dozens o' y'r kind in mah day. Yahr nothin' special, fool." He looks to Bilsey and Harmann. "Fall back... Take Terrence an' Stewaht wi' you... Th' squirrel 'n' I will 'old 'em off..."

Zoltar chuckles. " Hold me back....hahaha..400 ya 2...oh my..I will enjoy this..KILL!"

"Och, aye!" John calls back, sword held at the ready, standing at the old hare's side. "Ye killed poor Xander, ye did - an' Ah've been meanin' t'pay ye back fore that, Ah have been."

Pulling up his bevor to protect his lower face, the squirrel calls out one last time.
"C'MON, FACE US BY YESELF, IFIN YORE BRAVE ENOUGH! ORE D'YE NEED YE FRIENDS T'BACK YE UP?"

It seems Varus and John may...yeah they in trouble.

Shadowlight rolls her eyes and goes to slash at the squirrel, before jumping back again.

Zoltar says, "Why..this is more fun. Not ta worry. Maybe I'll send your Lord Ciocan a gift...your dead bodies."

Varus then challenges Zoltar as he throws down his weapon " Fight me paw ta paw unless ya scared kitty."

Zoltar growls as his ears flatten, he then charges Varus.  He has his claws still. He kicks, he punches, he claws at the old hare!

Varus is an EXCELLENT boxer, so he easily dodges the first few swipes, and he whips around, kicking with his right foot in an effort to knock the wind out of the cat. One of the swipes does catch his left shoulder, however, causing blood to stain his uniform.

Meanwhile, with the horde and Zoltar distracted by the two old-ish creatures, Terrence and the rest of the defenders - which hopefully included Donica, Konner, and the sergeant Felicity, which he hadn't seen since the previous morning - into the boats through the boathouse, hopefully able to escape with their wounded safely down south. "SET FIRE TO THE WALLS!" The master-sergeant's last orders come, and it's done, even as the last boats begin to slip away. The fort is ruined.

Zoltar cackles and he does get a kick to the jaw and spits blood, he slashes claws at Varus again, gets a punch to his eye,where the scar is and kicks out at the old hare and a punch to face move.

Shadowlight frowns, "Thefort is burning master!" A few horde beasts back off, they have the village after all...who needs a burning fort.

The sneak attacks from Shadowlight and her cronies glance off the squirrel's armor, and he turns, slowly - even through the helmet they can see the way his eyes blaze at them. With a leap forward one of the vermin who attacked the squirrel falls, dead.

"RAAAAAaaaaAAaAAAAAAAGH!" With that yell of sheer rage, the tall squirrel takes his sword in both hands, holding it by the blade and wielding the cross guard and hilt as a mace. The next strike down at the next vermin results in carnage, the nearly headless creature slumping to the ground. Then the squirrel rounds on Shadowlight, readying to kill her as well.

Shadowlight sidesteps and gets a gash to the shoulder, She flicks a dagger at the squirrel before she goes to get to the village taking some horde with her, it's their village now and Zoltar has a few with him to fight 2 already worn out fighters

Varus is starting to flag, unfortunately. He takes another slash, across the back, and he yells out in pain, and he lashes out with another kick, but Zoltar's next punch catches him squarely in the jaw, with an audible *CRACK*, and the old hare slumps to the ground, in full view of everybeast watching. He's out cold.

As the fires in Halyard begin to rage on, Terrence slumps to the deck of the ship.
"How many made it out," He sucks in a deep breath, the exhaustion of the night finally getting to him, "Konnah?"

"Least fifty hares and villagehs, maybe more by my count, sergeant, sah."
"Fifty.... more than half ou'h hares dead." He bows his head, hiding his face. "And the majah- and Greenhill..."

Zoltar goes to kick the old hare and one more slash of claws as he backs up." your turn to die now squirrel."

John stands now alone against the horde beasts, even as he pulls the dagger out of his shoulder - because of the mail and gambeson beneath, it did little more than bruise him. With a grim face hidden beneath his sallet helm and bevor, the squirrel raises his mace-sword high in the air, ready to strike out. "Ah promise ye, wee Zoltar, ye take a step closer an' Ah'll take ye with me."

Zoltar just chuckles." Take him..I want him alive to watch the Mountain fall as well " He is worn out and nods for 5 beasts to grab the squirrel, knock him out maybe.

Shadowlight Watches from a distance as the 5 horde best go to grab John, knock him out to be a captive

The fort burns, and many buildings in Halyard are burning as well. Villagers are still attempting to flee, whilst horde breasts start to round up whomever is remaining.

Varus looks all but dead, lying fallen beside the body of Private Pieter and numerous other dead and dying beasts. The ruined fort is a disaster area now.

Even as Varus lies as if he were dead upon the ground, a single figure remains standing, alone. John laughs, a cold, cruel sound, and readies himself as the vermin come.

The first to approach the squirrel dies by his paw, and so does the second, and the third - again and again the sword hilt is brought down on the creatures, until the horde vermin dead begin to pile up around John's feet, and still he strikes out, the hilt bloody. More vermin come forward, and even as they grab onto the squirrel he beats them away, felling them with heavy strokes.

The blade held in his hands is scarlet in the firelight, and he's silent as he raises it once more, and again, and again - twenty-five times he raised the blade, and twenty five dead pile up around him, till, at the last, a loud ringing is heard as the blade snaps in his paws, the hilt bouncing off the skull of the now dead ferret.
Gripping the broken blade in his paws, he jabs it into the next creature - but now the horde converges on him all at once, and they drag him away, kicking and screaming like some feral animal.

Zoltar ears go flat as he marches after." Chain that squirrel I want to know who he is before I mount his head on a spear!."

Unseen by anybeast, friend or foe, Varus' eyes flutter open. He gets a bleary-eyed view of John being dragged away, kicking and screaming, and the hated cat following after. The old hare lets out a raggedy breath, and then his eyelids close again, as he falls into the dark embrace of unconsciousness.

All can hear the last words John gets out before they gag him, with the squirrel screaming out at the top of his lungs, "ZOLTAR! AH CURSE YE, YORE DEATH'LL FIND YE SOON, NO' BY ME PAW, BU-"

And he's silenced, with several kicks, but his eyes are still blazing fire.

Zoltar snorts." Me die? Not anytime soon." He heads to the tavern where the horde has gathered any still alive. He sits." I need a wine please , cheers to victory we have a sea port and soon a mountain fortress.

The Crimson Shadows celebrate

Victory