Belisarius tries to Trump, but fails. (Based on what I've seen so far, I'd worship Zoroaster over Jupiter.)
Barasames has the Saracens do another do-si-do, which routs another MI on the hill. A third Saracen pins the HI behind the trench (absorbing a hit from Reaction Fire as it does so), allowing the Missile Low LC to plunge through the gap to attack the two routed MIs. The Lancers then hit the HI on the flank.
Great missile dice end up being lousy shock dice -- one MI survives its preshock check, and both subsequent combats roll '0'. The MI's fate was sealed, although it put another hit on the LC before it died. The Persians had around a 50-50 shot at routing the HI as well, but it didn't come through.
Bouzes's position has changed as if by magic because of Referee Error. During Pitames's activation I took it upon myself to have Bouzes perform an OW. He afterwards informed me that he'd have preferred to stay with his units. It didn't seem fair to leave him out in the open where he could get run down when that wasn't his intention in the first place, so I arbitrarily put him with the HC. (Am I reading things correctly in assuming that 9-MA leaders effectively cannot OW when approached by 9-MA units such as the Saracen LC? I hadn't noticed this before; it's really evil if so.)
I fully expect this to be the type of decision that makes everyone unhappy with the ref. :^)
Barasames tries for Momentum again, and once more the magic dice come through. Bouzes has the only possible Trump attempt.
With the armies about to intertwine, it strikes me that it's going to be confusing with both armies having units of the same colors. Unless someone has a better idea, I'll probably start making the Persians shades of yellow (retaining the stripe for cavalry).
Current Rout Point totals:
| Side | Current | Limit | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Persians | 4 | 109 | 4% |
| Byzantines | 10 | 102 | 10% |
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