Things are slowly picking up - Stonie fixed his machine/install and came back last night with a friend (and now guildie).
Order has a bunch of T3/T4 players - which mostly spend their time in T4 rather than T3. But we've a fresh batch of T2/T3 players - which are starting to appear on the scene.
Tier 1 is pretty active as is Tier 4 - with order trying to lock down the last Elf T4 zone for a push on to the Destro Dark Elf Fortress.
Destro numbers are pretty large both in T3 & T4 - and there were some Epic battles in Avelorn last night.
It started simple - small groups pushed around the Avelorn keep. Order having enough to push the door but never quite together enough to actually do it.
Some great little skirmishes on the approach to the keep door as the defending Destruction take advantage of the safety of the keep.
Most of order decide to pull back and push the Battlefield Objectives leaving a single party skirmishing with cowardly destruction outside the keep.
We kept them there using a comgination of hand-to-hand and siege equipment for about 20-30 mins until their numbers grew, overrunning us.
At this point there were about 6-8 parties on both sides (almost 2 complete WB's) - and the battles from Wood Choppers to Maidens landing, both of which was now in the hands of Order.
At Maidens Landing in Avelorn Order decided to tactically defended - using the bridge to the landing as a choke point but unable to push into the swarming destro crowd on the small knoll overlooking the defenders.
After the party from outside the Avelorn keep negotiated with the healer at the Warcamp to remove rez sickness - they jumped upon thier trusty steeds they rode swifty to flank the destruction warband from the north.
Quickly they pushed into the Warband and searched the clusters of bushes for the sharmen, source of those dark green fizziliing beams that were striking out to the brave Order defenders. Less than a minute after reaching the pesky dark yodas, the fearsome black orcs pulled back from the main engagement to tackle the small order team leaving the front of the destruction warband open and exposing the soft fat underbelly of the destruction band.
The brave order defenders make chase, wounded and low on health (as usual most Order healers are having their quad-weekly picnic in a green field somewhere outside Altdorf) and push into the main body of the destruction army. The destruction ranks quickly become confused, as first many of the cowardly Black Guard, pull back too quickly leaving their casters & healers exposed. The courageous order band quickly focus their efforts with the main body pushing the black orcs - keeping their focus while small teams cut down the wielders of dark magic.
A small party of destruction attempt to circle the main body and push into the small band of healers struggling to keep up with the healing needs of the party but a handful of knights and a brave ironbreaker quickly cut them off and within moments their evil blood is soaking into the earth to nourish the forest of Avelorn.
The fighting continues but the fragile spirit of the destruction party has been broken as now Black Orcs are fleeing into the forest behind as Order make chase - sending many of their souls back to the dark gods.