Defense of Riverside

The defense of Riverside was a major turning point in the war between the city states of Kavivil and Marûagir, ultimately bringing the Kavivil offensive to a halt.

Prelude

The militant city state of Kavivil had been harassing Marûagir transports and distant mining and exploration operations for years, prodding for a reaction. Marûagir, being the crime infested disorganized mess that it is were unable to protect their interests at the edges of their territory. Sure, some factions had the time and means to withstand the assaults, but the city as a whole remained unresponsive.

Going from caravans and boats, Kavivil started raiding, then conquering outlaying settlements under Marûagir rule. Morale in the outskirts were low as they remained unaided, and some joined their aggressors in hopes of getting a better ruler.

With the outskirts plundered, Kavivil forces marched on the city itself. Only needing to cross a river to get to the Outer Wall region where the districts were undefended by walls and well-trained knights, taking the suburbs would be the easiest path towards starting an effective.

Deployment

Kavivil had expected to be able to march over the main bridge, straight down the main street towards the city gates. Lining up heavily armored soldiers in the front with battering rams and ladders, preparing lighter armored skirmishers to raid the houses of Riverside, Edgefield, and Midtown. Their siege camp was set up outside the outskirt monastery which had been locked down, wanting to remain peacefully neutral. This would also prevent a frugal counter-siege from within the city, as they would have to go through the monastery first.

On Marûagir's side, many people of the outer districts, especially among the aristocrats, had taken shelter behind the outer walls. While some defensive measures had been put into place, the wall remained largely unmanned. At this point in time, the Lord Overseer had gathered the leaders of each city district to come up with a plan, only to find two of them missing: Lord Mayor Saidash Vadim of Riverside and Lord Mayor Jack Matthews of Midtown.

Defense of Riverside

The two Lord Mayors, who both rose to their impressive titles through merit instead of bloodlines, were not so eager to leave their people to fend for themselves. The two planned to trap the besiegers in the tight and narrow streets away from the main road, where their spears and longswords would be far less effective, giving the urban accustomed Midtown Militia a fighting chance against them. Once the heavily armored frontliners would be forced into unfavorable terrain, the skirmishers would be picked off by Lord Mayor Vadim, an old goliath who wanted a warriors death, along with his men.

Rallying the common folk to assist, Lord Mayor Matthews had organized an extensive network of signalers, runner boys, and musicians to watch the streets. Utilizing the tallest buildings as watchtowers, Jack Matthews had insured that every part of the would-be-battlefield was being watched by someone, and had the opportunity to contact the next lookout post within a few seconds using sounds or runners. This would give the Midtown Militia not only a fair fight, but a significant advantage in that they would always know where the enemy was moving, and they could never be caught off guard.

The northern part of Riverside had been evacuated and rigged with exploding glyphs. As the besiegers marched down the main road, and the skirmishers followed behind across the bridge, the glyphs went off. Buildings fell onto the main road, the Militia gave the aggressors a quick poke before scattering in every direction, and Saidash Vadim and his men stormed the bridge. The invading force almost immediately lost unit cohesion, the skirmishers routing immediately, and the vanguard split in half. One half spread out and tried to hold off the Militia as they poked them, while the other half tried to push their way trough the now-ruined Riverside in a more cohesive manner.

While the more unified part of the vanguard managed to push forward over the course of the day, the other half stood no chance against Lord Mayor Matthews superior strategy, and was utterly defeated in the narrow spaces of Midtown.

Conclusion

It is unlikely that Midtown and Riverside could have survived a second wave, but under the leadership of Jack Matthews, they were able to hold the invaders in check until the Lord Overseer could muster a proper defense. While the fights were raging in the outer wall districts, the Lord Overseer and the other District leaders could transport their own soldiers by boat to Edgefield, where they could cross the city's southernmost bridge into the Eastern Outskirts. From there they led a charge against the Kavivil camp, forcing a retreat.

Lord Mayor Saidash Vadim met his desired end at the bridge, dying whilst fighting off the routing skirmishers. Lord Mayor Jack Matthews, through his excellent planning and leadership, won not only the undying love of his people, but also the respect of the city nobility that were previously reluctant to see him as an equal.

Conflict Result

Kavivil retreat.
Death of Lord Mayor Saidash Vadim.
Ruination of Riverside District.

Location

Marûagir

Kavivil Initial Plan

Kavivil Initial Offensive

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The white dotted line shows the armored vanguard's planned approach, while the brown shows the skirmishers plans.

Marûagir's Counter

Marûagir Counter Siege

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The white dotted line shows the armored vanguard's actual approach after the Riverside explosion, while the brown shows the skirmishers rout. The red line is the Lord Overseer's counter-siege.