"My mother told me!"
The waves clash against a grand longship, the bellowing voice of a grizzled warrior echoing on the high seas as dozens row in unison.
"One day I would buy!"
"Gally with good oars!"
The man at the helm, chainmail shining under the morning light, his gjermundbu helmet is lifted up, resting on his forehead as he chants along with his men.
"Shore is in sight!" He pats his men on their shoulders as he walks among them. "Ready yourselves!"
Vikingr the lot of them, raiders from the north seas.
"Aha! Vlandia, here we are!"
The leader stands at the front of the ship, bracing his leg against the thick wooden dragon carved into the front.
"Ready yourselves! We are drifting into shore!"
The boat creaks as it thuds against the sandy sub surface of the outer beach, the vikingr jump from the boat and grab ropes strung against it, wading through the water as they drag the ship to shore and beach it.
They arm themselves, padded coats, klappenrocks, woolen shirts, some have helmets, even fewer have mail shirts. They total 50 or so in number, all older males with fully grown facial hair, stern eyed and ready for combat
"March! March!"
The man at the helm holds his bearded axe high, marching forward, his boots sloshing against the soft ground of the beach.
The sea raiders form into lines, 3 wide, dozens deep, shields strapped across their backs and shoulders, carrying haversacks of food and water skins.
A group of longbowmen flank the rear of the formation, they keep their bows unstrung and in cow sinew liners as to protect the belly of their self bows. Quivers of crude arrows hang limply at their sides, from their stripped leather belts.
Marching, marching. Ground gives way to forest, the closest village is but a few miles away at the most, it has yet to be raided and is ripe with gold, riches and women.
[Sea Raider Thegn Tier 5]
[Sea Raider Chief Tier 4] x 10
[Sea Raider Tier 2] x 38
A great host of warriors heads to the village of Tirby
The clinking of mail and rustle of fabrics against sharp branches is the only indication of the force that shrouds itself in the shadow of the forest on the outskirts of the small farming village.
Horns blow as the morning light fully comes over the village, glistening against the thatched roofs of the simple homes and the windows of the simple chapel in the middle of the town.
Villagers scramble out of their doors, looking for where the loud intrusive noise bellows from.
Sea raiders emerge around the south of the village, spears and axes shining from the bright sun, they do little to hide their intentions, hooting and hollering and banging their shields.
From inside the village a militia captain arms himself quickly, calling for all able bodied men to gather themselves. The militia captain is a man beyond his prime, he has but a simple aketon and wooden round shield, still among villagers a very expensive kit, including an old sword which would be antique by modern military standards
Militia men gather quickly, due in part to the lack of equipment they have to arm themselves, villagers grab whatever they can, pitchforks, kitchen knives- clubs, thick branches.
[Vlandian Militia] x 27
[Vlandian Peasant] x 30
The opposing forces equal in number but the situation looks dire, the sea raiders are warriors with real arms and armor, beset upon them like wolves.
They form a shield wall and begin engaging forwards, 3 men deep of shields, militia men fire their weak hunting bows at the formation, arrows bounce off or bend and crack at the impact against the hardened wood of the Norse round shields.
"Stand your ground! We outnumber them! Stay! Stay!"
The militia captain pleads as some of his force seem to stumble back in fear as their arrows shatter.
Peasants watch on with fear, white knuckling their weapons, women hide in their homes, praying that the raiders will simply drop dead.
A slave stands at the back of the peasants and looks on with indifference.
[One Handed:0] [Two Handed:25] [Polearm: 0]
[Bow:0] [Crossbow:1] [Throwing: 0]
[Riding:0] [Athletics:7] [Smithing: 0]
[Scouting:0] [Tactics:0] [Roguery:0]
[Charm:-10] [Leadership:0] [Trading:0]
[Steward:0] [Medicine:0] [Engineering:0]
Two Handed 25.. His stats are higher than all of the militia yet they tell him to stay back and do nothing as he is just a useless slave, he has no reason to fight, if they lose he will just stay as a slave of course. But if he fights, experience.
He knows how bannerlord works, killing an enemy gives tons of experience, the higher tier enemy you kill even better are the rewards
Fucking sea raiders... The toughest bandits in all of Calradia and here are a shit ton of them, I've only been in this world for a month and now I'm gonna get slept by these ingrates.
He walks through the villagers and taps the back of a trembling militia man.
"Hey bub, can I have that sparth axe, ill take your place."
He taps the simple two handed axe in his hands. The militia man looks up at Jacos, for a slave he is large- muscular from working, tall among Vlandians. His blue eyes and blonde hair make him look like a sea raider himself if not for the ragged clothes he has.
He's pissing himself.
"Y-yes take my place, please!"
The man almost shoves the axe onto Jacos, retreating to the lines among the peasants.
Fucker took his helmet with him.. I could of used that.
Jacos trots forward and plants his axe on the ground.
"Captain Almeric, I am a slave yes, but I am a Nord- I will die in battle here than die a slave."
The captain looks over at the towering slave with zero objections, this man will surely be more useful than a militia with pissed filled britches,
"Aye boy, today we die then."
I don't plan to die, I'm running the second there is a gap in their formation.
The raiders begin chucking their javelins, in an instant multiple vlandians are felled, some weeping in pain as a javelin sticks out of their guts, ripping some intestines out from the gouged wound.
After the volley the sea raiders pull their axes from their belts and stop about 30 yards from the enemy.
"Ha! Come on peasants give us a show!"
The boastful Thegn uncovers himself from the shield wall, daring any arrow to pierce him but none come.
Sea Raiders clash into the militia, its bloody, one sided, terrible.
Jacos takes his chance, his broad body is able to reach over the shield man in front of him, he takes a shot with the axe on the most unarmored sea raider, the axe rips into his klappenrock, tearing his shoulder from the rest of his body, it hangs limply at his side, his shield falls from his limp hand and a vlandian spear takes advantage of this and pierces his chest, the sea raider gasps for air, blood spurts from his mouth as the spear is pulled from him, he slumps forward onto a shield and is quickly pushed off onto the ground where another raider steps over him and takes his place.
"The axe man get the axe man!"
A sea raider shouts throwing an axe right at Jacos, it darts past him, a narrow miss.
Shit fuck why am I doing this, I just fucking killed a guy. They are after me!
He has no time to think, be brings the axe down on another sea raider, felling him instantly with a cut to the throat.
Jacos continues fighting for his life, trapped in the middle of the militia who are being overwhelmed.
"Chiefs! Clean this rabble up!" The thegn ushers his armored warriors to the front, he has lost too many raiders already, the battle must be resolved before further losses. The mail of the chiefs clinks as they fight, vlandian spears and axes glance and bounce off of the well tailored armors.
The chiefs press their advance, collapsing the left flank of the vlandians and enveloping them
I need to run! But where? Damn it I'm dead here!
Jacos ducks under a javelin and pushes out of the militia formation, the peasants look at him in terror as he abandons the front line, he was putting in the most work keeping the raiders at bay, but a slave has no reason to fight to the death.
Should I surrender? Fuck I just killed like 5 people hell no they will lop my head off!
"We got a runner! We got a runner!"
Some sea raiders break off from the main line and come at Jacos.
"Its the bastard!"
Shit, they want my ass!
Jacos rears holding his axe at the ready, his two handed skill has risen to 37 just from the small skirmish
The sea raiders only have about 25-ish points in each skill, he can overcome at least one.
The sea raiders encapsulate him around a small cow pen.
"He yaint no vlandian look at the like of em' big bastard! I almost mistook him for one o' us!"
He places his round shield in front of him with some trepidation.
"Come on you bastards! Come kill me, I'm ready!"
I'm not ready, I'm fucking scared! But they don't know that!
"What are you?" A sea raider raises his eyebrows, speaking clearly to avoid the fight as long as possible. "A mercenary? You have no armor? Your not one of them."
Jacos grips the bloodied axe gritting his teeth.
"Im a slave."
The sea raider lowers his axe, faltering lightly.
"What. Why are you fighting."
"A Nord fights."
"Well that is fair."
The short exchange eases the tensions very quickly, the sea raiders figure Jacos as a big meathead. Swinging an axe like a wild animal at whoever comes at him, foe or kinsmen alike.
"We wont kill you, if you join us."
Wait really. They for real? That easy? Shit this is my chance.
"Fine. Being a slave is not my favorite."
The sea raiders lower their weapons in relief, thanking Wodunaz that they don't have to fight the big fucker with an axe.
"The vlandians are done for, just stay back and watch."
Jacos looks over, despite being with the people for over a month, the life of a wheat threshing slave comes with no friendliness of the people, and being the ethnicity of the 'enemy' does not help either, Jacos- which isn't even his true name, learned from his hag master that he was, before his transmigration into the body, a Nord peasant that was captured by Aserai bandits on a trade route on the open seas, he was then sold into slavery by them.
"I hold no kinship with these folk. I surrender." Jacos places his axe on the ground. The sea raiders do the same, strapping their shields to their back as the sea raider chiefs finish off the militia.
After rounding up the peasants the Thegn approaches,
"Throw this one in the pile stop slacking off you dogs!"
"Sir, this one wants to join us!"
The thegn turns to Jacos, his eyes harden for a moment.
"Nord, what is a kinsmen doing here."
He turns back to his troops.
"He was a slave sir."
"Yet he hew many of my men down." He returns, the raiders shuffle back with trepidation.
"Hmm, if he felled 5 men, he will have to replace them then, no matter if he is skilled enough."
The thegn looks at the bloodied axe now leaned up against the picket fence.
"We will take you boy, but know you will pay us back for our losses dealt on us by your blade."
[Enlisted as a Sea Raider Tier 2]
[Experience 22/535]
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Author: Any ideas you want implemented or would like to share? I write for fun and don't claim to be good at all so criticism is open always regarding prose, story direction etc. just leave it on this segment, thanks.