The Kingdom of Desmond

[The Mad Skylord]

The army of Sir William Stanley advanced into Killarney, the lands of the Clan MacCarthy. Moving quickly, he laid siege to Parkavonear Castle. He quickly ordered sentries to be posted and siege ladders made, before he called for a parlay with the leader of the castle's defenders.

Sir WIlliam Stanley:
+4 Battles
+5 Charisma

Men:
160 Yeoman Foot
120 Yeoman Archers

[Barry Goldwater]

Parkavonear is a strong castle, originally built by the Hiberno-Normans but lost to the native MacCarthys more recently. Its garrison of a hundred men are led by a Cormac MacCarthaigh Mor, cousin of King Tadhg Liath, who appears on the battlements to parley with Sir William.

"Who are you and what the hell d'you want?" MacCarthy is speaking in pure Gaelic; it would seem he either doesn't know or doesn't care to speak a word of English.

Castle garrison:
60 Yeomen Archers
40 Yeomen Footmen.

[The Mad Skylord]

Stanley had cantered forwards a short distance - though he remained well out of arrow shot - and called back to the walls in Gaelic of his own. "I want your castle, nothing else, MacCarthaigh! I offer you these terms:
You and your men will depart this castle, fully armed and unharmed and you will not take up arms against us again! Do we have an accord!"

OOC: +5 Charisma

[Barry Goldwater]

Roll: Base 10/20 chance

+5 Charisma, -3 from Parkavonear being a strong castle with ample provisions = 12/20 chance

Rolled an 18, success

---

MacCarthy appeared to be sufficiently intimidated by the army before him, and grudgingly stands down. As his warriors file out from Parkavonear with their banners and arms intact though, he still growled, "This is Irish land and, God willing, it'll be Irish again soon. I shan't march against you, as our accord goes, but just you wait for the rest o' my kin..."

[The Mad Skylord]

Stanley leaves a garrison of 5 yeoman archers and 5 yeoman foot and continues his march onwards to the town of Killarney.

He marches his army in a tight formation, with his billmen to the outside and his archers in the center - so he can form a battle square by simply stopping and facing all directions in case of an Irish attack.

Upon reaching Killarney, Sir William places the town under siege and calls for a meeting with the commander of whatever garrison is there.

[Barry Goldwater]

The captain of the town's militia comes forward to parley, supported by some monks from the nearby abbey who could translate English into Gaelic should Stanley opt to not speak the man's language. His lot don't seem impressive, a few actual warriors backed by a mob of untrained Irish shepherds and other civilians armed with crooks, hammers, kitchen knives & what not; they don't seem very eager to die, either. Moreover, without Parkavonear Castle, Killarney doesn't have much left in the way of physical protection - if negotiations should turn sour, all that stood between Stanley and victory was a palisade and ditch.

[The Mad Skylord]

Stanley had his men arrange in squares, with his liveried longbowmen to the front. The golden eagle's claw badge stood out upon their red livery, and they stood and played with their bows. He himself rode forwards, intending to make the meeting brief. "Good Sir! Your soldiers will disband and return to their homes, and you will open your gates and we'll have no blood spilled on either side. In addition, you will provide to me the location of the mustering field of your King's army. It can't be too far from here, surely."

Men were strolling up and down the line, in full sight, making small fires with which the archers could light their arrows. The threat was clear.

"If you comply, none of your will be harmed and I will ensure you are treated with the utmost respect."

[Barry Goldwater]

"I don't know where the king's army musters. Nobody does, 'till he tells us, and he sure as hell hasn't told me or his cousin up at the castle. Some days it's right in front o' Killarney here, other times it could be 's far south as Dunboy or out west near Baile an Sceilg. Considering you're right here, I guess we can both rule that first one out." The Killarney captain grunts in response. His lack of a response to Stanley's other terms indicated acceptance; in any case, it didn't look like his paltry force and the town's meager defenses would last long against Stanley's army even if he did try to fight.

[The Mad Skylord]

With the townspeople subdued, their gates taken off their hinges and their weapons confiscated, Sir William left the town without a garrison. With Killarney now fully occupied, he turned his attention to Ballinskelligs in the south, marching to the small village and offering the same terms offered to Killarney. (ballinskelligs castle is built in the 16th century, so it doesn't exist yet). As before, he travels his army in squares, with the archers in the centre, ready to deploy at speed should they come under ambush.

[Barry Goldwater]

The land around Ballinskelligs is rough and easy to hide in, but the English don't encounter any ambushes on their way in...not yet, anyway. Whether this is just a spot of good fortune, or if the Irish have actually rallied elsewhere and are just moving in to counter Stanley's advance in force instead of as piecemeal raiding parties, is uncertain - Stanley doesn't have the horsemen to scout, after all.

Eventually Stanley does indeed reach Ballinskelligs, yet another town defended by a simple palisade (though, unlike Killarney, at least there are a few small towers and archer platforms here) and ditch. However the garrison, though still paltry, has had enough time to hear of the fall of Killarney and prepare accordingly; they now refuse to surrender. Simple ladders will be required to overcome the palisade, or of course Stanley could invest in a ram to demolish the town gates if he doesn't mind a bit of overkill.

Ballinskelligs garrison:
15 militia foot
25 militia archers
15 yeoman archers
15 yeoman foot

Total: 70 men

[The Mad Skylord]

Stanley begins by having his longbowmen simply launch volleys of fire arrows into the town, while his infantry prepare ladders and a battering ram. The men not involved in making the equipment or firing arrows form up in squares in front of the archers, ready in case the garrison should sally.

[Barry Goldwater]

The fire arrows of the longbowmen are opposed by the efforts of the Irishmen and even some civilians to combat the fires, which they do as efficiently as they can with water from both their own stores and the sea. Hides drenched in water were thrown over the palisades in an effort to protect them from the fire, as well. At the end of it all, twenty of the soldiers - over a fifth of the town garrison - have died fighting the flames started by English archery, along with more than a few civilians.

Ballinskellings losses:
10 militia foot
5 militia archers
5 yeoman archers

However, the English would not be able to celebrate for long. While their siegeworks were still under construction, the MacCarthy army emerged from their rear, having taken advantage of the rough terrain and the lack of patrols to conceal their movements and surprise Stanley! While King Tadhg's cousin Cormac wasn't present, apparently the man didn't feel bound not to tell Desmond's ruler of the English invasion, and so the master of what remains of an independent Gaelic Munster doesn't seem remotely happy about this English incursion. He is also visibly backed by the O'Sullivans, the local rulers of the area around Ballinskellings who are sworn to the MacCarthys.

Desmond's army:
King Tadhg Liath MacCarthy Mor (+3 Battles, +3 Personal Combat)
Donal O'Sullivan (+2 Battles, +2 Personal Combat)
120 yeoman foot (gallowglasses)
120 hobelars
150 militia foot (kerns)
60 militia archers (kerns)

Roll for ambush during siege: 16/20 odds, no troops assigned to 50-man patrols --> roll of 2, ambushed!

Note: By ambushing the English during a siege, the Irish have a +4 to their combat rolls.

[The Mad Skylord]

The fire arrows of the longbowmen are opposed by the efforts of the Irishmen and even some civilians to combat the fires, which they do as efficiently as they can with water from both their own stores and the sea. Hides drenched in water were thrown over the palisades in an effort to protect them from the fire, as well. At the end of it all, twenty of the soldiers - over a fifth of the town garrison - have died fighting the flames started by English archery, along with more than a few civilians.

Ballinskellings losses:
10 militia foot
5 militia archers
5 yeoman archers

However, the English would not be able to celebrate for long. While their siegeworks were still under construction, the MacCarthy army emerged from their rear, having taken advantage of the rough terrain and the lack of patrols to conceal their movements and surprise Stanley! While King Tadhg's cousin Cormac wasn't present, apparently the man didn't feel bound not to tell Desmond's ruler of the English invasion, and so the master of what remains of an independent Gaelic Munster doesn't seem remotely happy about this English incursion. He is also visibly backed by the O'Sullivans, the local rulers of the area around Ballinskellings who are sworn to the MacCarthys.

Desmond's army:
King Tadhg Liath MacCarthy Mor (+3 Battles, +3 Personal Combat)
Donal O'Sullivan (+2 Battles, +2 Personal Combat)
120 yeoman foot (gallowglasses)
120 hobelars
150 militia foot (kerns)
60 militia archers (kerns)

Roll for ambush during siege: 16/20 odds, no troops assigned to 50-man patrols --> roll of 2, ambushed!

Note: By ambushing the English during a siege, the Irish have a +4 to their combat rolls.

Orders:

OOC: Some of my forces were stationed behind me making siege weapons - I imagine this would be 20-30 Yeoman Infantry - while the rest of my Infantry and all of my archers were formed up in front of the town. I believe this would make a difference in attempting to get into formation.

All available English troops are ordered to form into a square, their billhooks facing all directions and the archers stationed in the middle. Their aim is to dig in and not budge, simply allowing the Irish to throw themselves through arrow fire and onto their billhooks in a desperate attempt to fend the larger army off.

Imagine the square as a Napoleonic Square or as a noob square - it's covering all sides and flanks.

Once the archers have expended all of their ammunition, they will take up their melee weapons and join the infantry in the Square's walls.

Troops:
155 Yeoman Infantry on the field - 20-30 of them likely stranded in front of the Irish attack.
115 Yeoman Archers

Sir William Stanley is obviously commanding the square.
+4 Battles
+1 Rout Rolls

[General Brewster]

A letter arrives for Sir Stanley carrying the Lord Lieutenant's seal.

Sir Stanley,

News have reached me that you moved on the clan MacCarthy.
I wish to be informed on the process at once.

Lord Talbot, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Earl of Shrewsbury, etc, etc.

[Barry Goldwater]

King Tadhg opened the battle by ordering his hobelars to charge, hoping that they could run down the English before they could rally and reform. In this they were partially successful, rapidly overwhelming the thirty or so Englishmen who had been building the rams and ladders and running down a number of other stragglers who failed to reach the safety of the forming square in time. However, these light horsemen were forced to retreat with all haste once they crash into said square, leaving the battle in the hands of the Irish infantry and missile troops. Outranged, outnumbered and outgunned (bowed?) by the English longbowmen, the kerns (as well as the Irish bowmen firing from the archer-towers along Ballinskelligs' palisade) were able only to lightly sting the English square before they and the gallowglasses closed in for the melee, in which they were joined by the sallying survivors of the garrison. With the gallowglasses out front and the kerns behind, the Irish quickly surrounded the English square and promptly began hurling themselves at it.

What followed was a lengthy slogging match, in which Stanley's square admirably held their ground against the sheer numbers of furious Irishmen descending on them. Eventually however, their numerical disadvantage and the toll of the initial Irish cavalry onslaught proved too great for English gumption to overcome. Finally, a number of heavily armored gallowglasses managed to hack open a gap in the square with their sparth-axes and claymores, and Tadhg immediately led his remaining hobelars on a charge through that opening in support of the gallowglasses & kerns before the English could close it. After that, it didn't take long for the Irish to reach Stanley's commanding position, nor for the remaining English to yield.

Casualties:

English:
60 yeoman foot
45 yeoman archers
Survivors captured (pinned between enemy town & army, no horses, formed a square that was surrounded, escape logically impossible)

Irish:
40 hobelars
45 yeoman foot
50 militia foot
25 militia archers

Sir Stanley himself was captured, tackled by a hobelar's horse and then wrestled to the ground by a pair of burly gallowglasses. (post-battle roll: 9, captured)

King Tadhg Liath emerged triumphant with only minor scrapes and bruises. (roll of 17, free)

Donal O'Sullivan's left thigh was torn open by a billhook. The injury is serious, but not life-threatening, and in time he will be able to walk normally. (post-battle roll: 6, wounded-->15, seriously wounded)

---

After the battle, a disarmed and bound William Stanley is dragged before the King of Desmond: Tadhg Liath MacCarthy, a tall and broad man in his early forties whose abs were starting to give way to fat, with wild black hair and a bushy beard. His saffron leine is spattered with blood, and he has his dented helm on his lap while his sword was in its scabbard at his side. His expression was...irate, to say the least.

"God-damned Sasanach...who the are you and what the do you think you're doing, invading my kingdom?"

[The Mad Skylord]

The English Knight looked at him incredulously. "Sir William Stanley. I suppose I'm here to crave out my own 'kingdom'"

[Barry Goldwater]

"Really? Really?! May God thrice damn you greedy Sasanach," Tadhg grumbles, crossing his arms. "Haven't you taken enough of Éire already? Well, I guess what you said answers that question with a loud 'no'."

"Anyway. My cousin Cormac tells me you booted 'im from Paírc an Mhóinéir - useless fool, he should've died for it like I or my sons would have, but now that I've beaten you anyway I guess there's no harm done that we can't fix in a week - and Cill Airne must have fallen soon after if you've already made it this far. So here is what is going to happen." Tadhg sat back up, hands on his knees, and his dark green eyes glared daggers into Stanley's own. "We are going to march back north. You are going to order any men you left at Paírc an Mhóinéir and Cill Airne to surrender, and I am going to have the nearest abbot write a letter to your master, see if we can't get him to pay a pretty penny for you - unless you can pay your own ransom. Once I have retaken what is mine and delivered you for whatever you're worth, we can pretend this little trip of yours never happened. So tell me, Stanley, how much do you think your hide is worth?"

[Barry Goldwater]

The Irish army marches into Killarney/Ross, with their English prisoners in tow. 40 minutes.

Once there, Tadhg will parade Stanley and his captive men before the walls of Parkavonear and demand the surrender of the ten-man garrison the former left behind.

[The Mad Skylord]

Stanley hummed idly. "£50, perhaps."

[Barry Goldwater]

£50? That could get Tadhg two prize cows and a more luxurious royal hovel at Dunboy. "I don't think your army was worth £50. Still, I'll send a letter demanding your release to your master." The petty king huffed at last. "In the meantime, you and I are paying a visit to Paírc an Mhóinéir and Cill Airne. Money or not, you aren't going anywhere outside of my borders until I've gotten everything you tried to steal from me right back."