"We need to redeploy outside the city," Pascal insisted as he faced the assembled commanders of the Weichsen army in their morning gathering.

Eight brigade commanders, plus a dozen more staff and tactical officers, met in the paved square just inside the city's northern gate. As the majority of the nearby buildings now lay in ruins, army personnel deployed a 'mobile command center' for the meeting instead. This was a large, single-room structure which had been expanded from its shrunken, crate-sized form. It featured an enchanted map table which they used to display the geography around Nordkreuz.

The map table back at Pascal's home -- with its links to Weichsel's 'Eye of the Dragon' -- would have been preferable for this meeting. However, while his cylindrical keep residence wasn't seriously damaged by the air assault, its foundations had been destabilized by the subsequent earthquake which had caused the structure to list dangerously. The building had been evacuated as a result, aside from two signal officers who stayed there to relay information from the map display.

In addition, the air attack that devastated the city had also claimed the lives of two brigadiers and seriously wounded General Wiktor von Falkenhausen -- who had been entrusted with the overall command of the forces assembled at Nordkreuz since the King and General Neithard's departure. Per Weichsel regulations for a defensive battle on home territory, command now fell to the next highest ranking officer, with priority given to the local garrison commander.

This happened to be Pascal's direct superior, Brigadier-General Bernard von Konopacki. He was a mediocre statured man who looked just past his adult prime, but with premature salt-and-pepper hair that added at least a decade to his visage. His slate-blue eyes now turned towards Pascal as the brigadier spoke in an even-mannered voice:

"You believe it would be better to sally out from the city for battle? Why?"

Pascal knew that although the Brigadier was of General Neithard's faction and therefore politically opposed to his views, Bernard von Konopacki was also an astute tactician and reliable infantry commander, if a bit old fashioned. Nevertheless, the thought of abandoning prepared fortifications to fight out in the open was too unorthodox for the general. He looked upon the young captain with a look of skepticism... but also a willingness to listen.

"For four reasons," Pascal raised his hand as he began to list. "First of all, the early morning bombardment from Skagen's drakes have left the city's fortifications in ruins. More than half the towers in the city's north and east have collapsed, along with many lengths of the city's walls. Countless wall sections now require scaling ladders even for our men to access, while others are so badly damaged they might collapse under the lightest spell bombardment."

"The rubble left behind by those walls would still impede entry," one of the other generals commented.

"Yes, but they also pose a hindrance upon our own forces' ability to conduct a coordinated defense," Pascal highlighted. "This brings me to point number two -- our forces still hold a significant numerical advantage, with roughly 46,000 against their 36,000. We need room to deploy and maneuver if we are to make full use of this quantitative edge. For this the ruined fortifications are more of an impedance than a boon."

In fact, most Weichsens found it surprising that the Northmen still insisted on fighting now that the skywhales had been defeated and Admiral Winter reportedly killed. Nevertheless, both the Skagen army and the Västergötland expedition force had set out from their camps at daybreak and now converged upon the city of Nordkreuz.

"This is especially the case when you consider that the Northmen are at their best in melee, which is my third point," Pascal continued as he raised another finger. "If we fight in Nordkreuz, and they break through the city's perimeter, we will be forced into chaotic, close quarters urban combat, where the Northmen hold a decisive edge. We need to make use of Weichsel's superiority in ranged and formation combat, and for that we require open terrain."

Brigadier Bernard nodded as he clearly recognized Pascal's points. Nevertheless he made one last objection:

"And what of the snow? The accumulation is almost half a pace high and hard snow continues to fall."

"The Northmen are expert skiers trained from childhood, while most of our men lack even snowshoes," another general pointed out. "A battle out in thick snow will not be to our advantage. They will cut our forces into pockets using their motti tactics, just like they did to the Imperium's expeditions decades ago!"

"--Not to mention the impact of the snowfall on visibility and range," added yet another. "Our arbalests will hardly get off a second volley before they close the distance."

"However the intensity of the weather is decreasing," Pascal insisted, "and it will continue to do so, since the originator of this storm, Admiral Winter, has been killed in the air battle. Ground accumulation may slow us down, yet it also offers us an opportunity to prepare the battlefield. After all, Nordkreuz lays on a peninsula that juts out into the middle of Cross Lake. The enemy has no choice but to approach from one direction, which gives us an opportunity to prepare."

"Trenches, slush pits, icicle stakes," one of the colonels, a brigade staff officer, joined in support of Pascal this time. "We can rough up the ground so they can neither run nor ski across it effectively. That will buy us the time needed for successive volleys."

"Skagen's mages do prepare runes for dealing with problematic ground."

"Yes, but any lanes they create through obstacle terrain will become bottlenecks, which our mages can exploit as effective kill zones."

There was actually a fifth reason that Pascal didn't want to mention, and that was he wanted to spare Nordkreuz any more destruction by keeping the battle outside of its walls. The city already lay in ruins after the aerial bombardment. Its militia was busy rescuing people trapped in collapsed cellars even as they spoke.

It is my fault that the city is in such a state, the young lord couldn't help but think of the smoking ruins outside. I do not want the city's residents to suffer any more than they already have.

However, as Pascal was the Landgrave of Nordkreuz, it would seem selfish if he claimed this as one of the reasons. There would no doubt be those who see it as him using national assets to protect his own fiefdom.

"Does anyone else have counterarguments?" Brigadier Bernard called out.

"Won't we be spreading our forces thin trying to cover the whole width of the peninsula?" A general questioned.

"We have the numbers. More than sufficient to create mobile reserves to bolster any part of the line that falls under determined attack," spoke another.

"Plus the Northmen know that piling up in one place will just make them fodder to our spell volleys."

"Not to mention that time is on our side," Lieutenant-Colonel Hans Ostergalen then added before Pascal could point out himself. "General Dietfried will arrive with the 1st cavalry brigade by early afternoon. As long as we can hold the anvil until that time, then our cavalry will become the hammer that crushes our enemies from behind."

"It's settled then," Brigadier Bernard declared as he used his sword to draw a line in the map table's sand. "We will deploy seven brigades across this line north of the city, at the crest of these two shallow ridges. Brigade commanders have authority to deploy as they see fit within their zone of responsibility. However I want two defense lines constructed -- an outer skirmish screen to slow down the enemy and a main line to hold fast. Then once those are completed, withdraw the support companies to the city's perimeter to construct a fallback position just in case."

"Yes Sir," officers nodded from across the room as they drew more indentations in the sand. Operational responsibilities were quickly divided up among the commanders before Bernard issued orders for the last two remaining formations:

"The veteran 5th infantry brigade and the 2nd cavalry brigade will be held back to act as reserves for the overall line. They will clear two lanes, each no less than four abreast, behind the main line for the rapid relocation of troops. We have only a few hours before the enemy's arrival so let's get started!"

 

----- * * * -----

 

"What is the point of attacking Nordkreuz now!?"

"How are we supposed to take the city when Admiral Winter has been defeated!?"

"You and your brother must bear personal responsibility for the calamity that has befallen our skywhales!"

Jarl Eyvindur Sigmundsen of Kattegen narrowed his eyes as he gazed upon the dozen rowdy nobles gathered before him. Many of them were already threatening to leave with their retinue and levy. The only reason they had not done so was because nobody wanted to be the first to break ranks and thus be accused of cowardice.

"SIIILEEENCE!" The tall, burly jarl bellowed out in a roar. It seized not only the nobles' attention, but also turned the heads of several hundreds more, as men continued to ski past the impromptu assembly of lords.

"Are you all children!?" Eyvindur snarled with disdain as he looked upon the nobles before his gaze. "One setback and you call it quits!? If that is the extent of your determination then I will not stop you from fleeing back to your homes! Better to let the cowards go now then have others catch their weak-minded disease!"

Several of the lords' faces grew red with anger as Eyvindur's retort struck where it hurt. In Hyperborean culture only the brave would be rewarded in the afterlife, cowardice was seen as an unforgivable sin.

"My brother dines with the Stormlord in the Golden Halls now, because he died bravely in battle!" Eyvindur declared. "Our fleet may have been defeated in the skies, but Admiral Winter has done his duty first in guaranteeing our army a path forward! The fortifications of Nordkreuz lie in ruins, and the army of Weichsel was devastated when we laid waste to their city and camps!

"With their forces reduced and their morale in tatters, we have a better chance now than at any moment in the past century!" He continued. "We can raze this heathen settlement and stop their excursions into our lands! And you want to retreat!?"

The Jarl swung his muscular arm around and pointed at a half-dozen young women who carried swords and shields upon their backs. They stood in a ritual circle around a rune-coated obelisk mounted on a sled. A squad of drummers walked in a ring around them, their beating and chanting uninterrupted by the nobles' arguments.

"Even my seventeen-years-old granddaughter has more balls than the lot of you!" He cried out.

"Jarl Eyvindur--" one of the other lords attempted to speak up. His remorseful expression showed that he was clearly having second thoughts, and he was far from being the only one.

However, Eyvindur had zero patience for any perceived excuses as he bulldozed right over the man's fumbling words:

"Those who wish to flee may do so now! Go back and cower in your holds as the heathens creep ever closer to your home! Go wait for your deathbed in old age when the Stormlord reminds you of your disgrace this day!"

The commander of Skagen's confederate army pointed towards the north, as though inviting the lords to take up on his offer. Then, as the moment passed and nobody turned or moved, Eyvindur heard his favorite granddaughter's voice announce from behind him:

"Gramps... commander," the young lady quickly changed her tone. However she could not keep out the excitement that beamed from her pretty smile. "We've found it! The Wickers' headquarters! It's located just slightly behind the center of the Wickers' second line."

Eyvindur was a veteran of multiple conflicts between the Hyperboreans and the Trinitians. He understood that Weichsel's greatest strength lay in the command and leadership of its officer corp. They had a tradition of setting up headquarters near the front lines, which not only bolstered the soldiers' morale but also improved battlefield communication and comprehension.

Therefore the moment he heard that the Weichsel army had sallied out from the city, he gathered his best Völva -- female mages who specialized in divination and scrying -- to find out where the Wickers were establishing their new headquarters. The deployable command centers those heathens used would be protected by both illusions and wards. But there was no such thing as a foolproof defense.

"How can you be certain?" Eyvindur asked, more for the benefit of others than his own doubts.

"We found six major communication trenches converging in one location, where the Wickers began to dig out almost as soon as their soldiers left the city." The young lady explained. "There are a dozen other dugouts of similar size where I suspect other command units to be sited. But this one that we found -- it was the first that the Wickers began working on, the first they laid illusory camouflage over, and we've observed more staff officers vanish beneath its Mirage cover than any other."

"--And one of them matched the description you gave us for the new Landgrave of Nordkreuz," added another.

"Then that is where we focus our strongest thrust." Eyvindur declared before turning towards a signal officer at his side. "Tell Jarl Ericsson to prepare his drakes for dive bombing. Once our vanguard has the Wickers' frontal defenses occupied, he will assault their command center with all of our remaining air strength. His orders are simple -- slaughter the Wickers' command unit and impose bloody terror upon these heathens!"

Västergötland's seventeen drakes, under the command of Jarl Ericsson, may not be as well trained as the air groups of Admiral Winter's fleet. But they were nevertheless a formidable bunch. Plus they had a fearsome Zmey -- the most powerful of all drake broods that the Dragonlords created.

"Yes Milord!"

With his order issued, Eyvindur turned upon the other nobles with a stern and determined look on his face.

"Well?" He snarled impatiently. "Will you fight? Or will you flee? Choose now!"

"We fight," two of the jarls declared, followed by acknowledgements from the rest.

"Good," Eyvindur stated with a sneer. "Then let me fill you in on the rest of the battle plan."

Though in reality, Eyvindur did not feel any of the confidence that he displayed, not even as he began to detail all the pieces of his converging, multi-pronged assault plan. He knew this whole battle was a risky gamble. However it was also a gamble he had to make.

I will not let your death be in vain, brother, The Jarl repeated the oath his swore upon hearing of his half-brother's demise. I will drown this city in blood to see you avenged!