The Battle of Blue, Part 2

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About the Saga

The Obsidian Bay Expeditionary Force continues to push its way towards blue. The Blackrazors engage a group of powerful High Orc cavalry in what is later called the Battle of the Ni-trath.

Timeframe

Cast of Characters

Notable Quotes

  • "Well, the good news is that we don’t have to worry about that 1,000 goblin army any more..." Luc said.

What Has Come Before

At the request of General Warrick, the Blackrazors led their part of the Expeditionary Force into battle against a maurading warband of goblinoids. The Blackrazors found, to their surprise, that the force was being led by a small group of ogres and two black-skinned orge magi. Curiouser still, the creatures had managed to subdue a dragonne and they had unleashed the bronze dragon/lion hybrid in the fight.

The Saga

23th of Wealsun, 587 CY

First Blood

By the time the Blackrazors met up with the main army night had fallen on the 23th of Wealsun, 587 CY. Warrick immediately requested their presence in his war tent. When they arrived, they will found the General’s command staff peering over a hastily sketched map of the eastern Pomarj. Standing nearby, as though he had just finished reporting, was the Orcslayers Guild leader and ranger known as Cutter.

The Blackrazor Guild reported that they had met and defeated a goblinoid army. Casualties on the Blackrazor side were light at about 12 percent of their total forces. Only one member of the opposing army – one of the black-skinned orge magi leaders – managed to escape. The rest of the army was either routed or destroyed outright. The Blackrazor leaders also killed the dragonne – and at the mention of this the concern momentarily appeared on the General’s face. It then vanished as the Blackrazors finished their report.

After the general got his answers, he updated the Blackrazors on the army’s status. "Our engagements have gone quite well. Cutter and his Orcslayers met with similar results against a warband of gnolls marauding on our northern side. The gnolls numbered only 200 though. This force you dealt with is more worrisome. We were under the impression that these bands were merely harassing traffic between Blue and Obsidian Bay. We weren’t even sure they were under Mak’s control. But the fact that they had captured the dragonne – and that such powerful orges were leading them – makes me think that they were working in concert with the forces threatening Blue. It makes me wonder what else is out there." He paused and made some notes on the map splayed out on the tent’s main table.

"I’ve dispatched as many scouts as we can spare to scout the expanse to the east and southeast of us – I have a hunch that there could be a few clans lurking out there. I’ll need you to return to your position a half a day ahead of the group. I leave it to you to decide how best to scout the region; however if you make contact with significantly larger enemy force, do not engage it. Instead have the army fall back and send a messenger to us. Then, if possible, scout it from afar. If you think you can take it, feel free to engage your forces – you’ve proven that you can handle this sort of responsibility. You are dismissed."

Another goblin army...

The next morning the Blackrazors led their troops on a forced march to regain their half-day lead on the army. Once they were in position, they sent out teams of five riders in all directions. One of these teams, led by the mage-thief Aaron Windstalker, discovered large goblinoid army about three hour’s ride to the north of the Blackrazors’ force. From two miles out they could see that the goblins had made camp for the night.

He immediately dispatched three of his riders to warn the Blackrazors and then ordered his remaining men to dismount and wait while he took a closer look at the force. He closed to within a ½ mile of the encampment and was able to determine that there were at least 600 goblins, 200 hobgoblins and 200 worgs. It was a force similar too – but slightly larger than – the army they had fought during their initial engagement.

But there was something strange about this army. There were no leaders, and the goblins’ interactions seemed to be too basic, too planned. Certain actions – like patrols – repeated themselves again and again in ways that just didn’t sit right with the half-elf. It was nothing he could put his finger on and he decided to dispatch his remaining riders to advise the army of his further discoveries.

Falgar’s Spy Run

By the time they caught up with Windstalker, night had fallen. The sounds of the army – goblins arguing, worgs howling – cut through the darkness. The fires of the camp backlit the goblins as they moved about the encampment and prepared for rest. The Blackrazors deciding that Falgar, who had recently acquired magical items that made almost impervious to magical detection and scrying, would make the best spy.

The mage cast a fly spell upon himself, turned invisible via the power of his broach of begoing, and took off toward the encampment. Flying slowly and low to the ground so that he could use his gem of seeing, Falgar suddenly realized that the army below him didn’t exist – it was all a massive illusion. And behind the illusion – apparently controlling it – were strange, orcish warriors, all of them with horses. All of them were wearing armor similar to, but still different from the High Orc silan assasin/mages they had encountered in the depths of the Obsidian Maze.

And then High Orc leader saw him. The leader, whose hooded face seemed to have two red gems placed over his eyes, glanced Falgar’s way, instantly recognizing him. The High Orc immediately cast a spell, which proved ineffective as Falgar flew up and away from the encampment and into the darkness. The mage cast another spell – magic missile – which struck home. Falgar, blind in the darkness but true to his style, lobbed a fireball in the direction of the High Orcs he had seen. He then soared out of the camp, hearing the sounds of several dozen high orcs organizing in the darkness below. Not having any sort of direction sense, he guess where his fellow Blackrazors were and flew off towards them.

He guessed wrong and flew away from them.

Blackrazors on the move

Once the first set of riders made it back to the Blackrazor army, its leaders decided to move towards the goblin force in hopes of engaging them. They sent their messenger to inform the main army, and prepared to move out. By this point it was late afternoon, and the troops – who had already been in a forced march all day – were less than thrilled about having to march even longer. Two hours later, the second group of riders arrived back at the army with Aaron’s cryptic update. Luc and the other Blackrazor leaders decided that this was a matter for the heroes – and not the army – to investigate. Leaving Cal behind to command the force, they headed out into the twilight to rendezvous with Aaron.

Seeing through the illusion

Meanwhile, Kannett, Killian, Luc and Aaron were patiently waiting to be rejoined by Falgar. As Falgar saw – and was seen – by the High Orc leader, the adventurers saw three sparks of light shoot out from a fire. As Falgar returned the attack with his fireball the party saw one of the larger fires explode out of control and heard the sounds of goblins struggling to combat it.

To Killian, it seemed unbelievable, and after concentrating for a moment he realized that it wasn’t real. Kannett soon came to the same realization.

Luc and Aaron, however, steadfastly maintained their belief in the army’s existence. At that point Kannett’s keen ears picked up a cry from Falgar. The Blackrazors immediately set off in that direction and as they road toward him Killian was able to convince his friends that the army was in fact an illusion. By the time they regrouped, the High Orc cavalry had already scattered, heading east, west and north in what appeared to be equal numbers.

Frustrated, but hoping to catch up with this force, the Blackrazors began tracking those who had fled east. A few hours later, as the sun began to rise in the east, they realized they weren’t going to catch the High Orcs, and decided to head back and rejoin the rest of their army. It was mid-morning by the time they walked back into camp, where they were greeted by a very worried Cal.

"What is the news Sir?" Calvin asked look.

"Well, the good news is that we don’t have to worry about that 1,000 goblin army any more," Luc said.

"That is good news," Cal replied. "Although I know we could have could have beaten them. St. Cuthbert is with us on this endevour."

Luc ignored the comment and then said: "The bad news is that they are actually 100 High Orc cavalry."

Cal thought about this for a moment. "That is disturbing."

"Yeah," Luc said, and rejoined the other Blackrazors. After a quick nap thanks to Cal, the Blackrazor elite headed out in search of the cavalry. They left orders with Cal to continue onwards toward Blue. Six hours later they discovered that the eastern cavalry group had linked up with the northern group, and together they had headed westward. The Blackrazors immediately headed south and – once within range -- sent a message via Falgar’s whispering wind spell to the Blackrazor army, informing Cal that the enemy appeared to be headed westward toward the main force.

An hour later, as the Blackrazors headed back to their army, a disaster unfolded.

Ambushed!

The High Orc cavalry unit had been heading west, but they’d also been heading south ... toward the Blackrazors’ army. After deftly drawing out and then outmaneuvering the Blackrazor elite, the cavalry moved into attack the Blackrazor army from the rear. With the sounds of the High Orc forces thundering in behind him, the army’s defacto commander, Calvin Cloudmore turned his men about to face the threat.

The cleric of St. Cuthbert couldn’t help but think back to three years ago, when he’d been a scout in the part of the Army of the Northern Province of Aerdy in its Almor campaign. He’d seen such horrors there ... horrors inflicted by evil creatures similar in spirit to the ones he now faced. He had vowed never to let such horrors occur again and it was a vow he intended to keep.

The High Orcs, in their strange, black, padded armor, advanced and the two groups exchanged missiles volleys. The leader of the cavalry, with his two lieutenants at either side, advanced in tandem with his forces and unleashed a powerful fireball on the Blackrazors’ City Guard unit. Heavy casualties rippled through the units flanks as the others in the Blackrazors unleashed a second deadly missile volley. The volley shredded one of the cavalry units, forcing it to rout and flee the battle field. After the initial missile attacks, the two sides closed to melee range. The remaining High Orc cavalry unleashed a magic missile barrage on the Citizens Guard, and closed to engage them. The badly damaged Citizens’ Guard unit counterattacked with excellent results, causing the cavalry unit to rout and follow their fellows off the field.

On the Blackrazor side, units faltered, but never routed as Calvin ordered the militia and Blackrazor cavalry units to engage. The leaders of these strange orcs refused to withdraw, and unleashed more powerful magic against their enemies. A wall of fire appeared amidst the militia unit, forcing them to fall back and reform. A second fireball, this time cast by one of the lieutenants, detonated amidst the Blackrazors. The explosion decimated their ranks, and they soon disbanded by another magic missile barrage from the High Orc commander.

Even with their cavalry units having fled the field, the High Orc leaders stood tall. Relying on their magical defenses – stone skin and mirror image spells – they were able rip into their opponents. But three orcs – even high orc heroes – couldn’t stand against the remaining forces of the Blackrazors and they finally died. The exhausted winners of the battle met up with the surviving members of the decimated units and steeled themselves for another possible battle. While clearing the battle field they were able to take 30 High Orc prisoners and recover the unconscious body of Calvin.

The Aftermath

Two hours later, the Blackrazor heroes arrived back in camp. They found an army that had been ravaged by the opposition and suffered serious casualties. After the battle, battle 31 percent of the 560 men who left Obsidian Bay in the Blackrazor army were dead. Morale, which had been high when leaving the city, had suffered fallen. While the forces were still committed to stopping the army marching on Blue, the passion that had driven them during the first week and a half of marching had left them.

The High Orc prisoners proved to be frustrating. Only one High Orc – apparently the leader – would speak when interrogated, and he only said "We are the ni-trath. We will be avenged" before somehow managing to poison himself. The rest of his man quickly followed suit.

In their report to General Warrick the next day, the Blackrazors reported that their force was at approximately 70 percent strength and that the forces the army fought appeared to be some sort of High Orc scouting force, perhaps the military equivalent of the silans they had met before. The fast-moving light cavalry units were apparently adapt at using both illusion and combat magic in guerrilla-type attacks on opponents. Warrick was deeply disappointed by the surprise attack on the Blackrazors, but he held his criticism to a minimum – another covert force, perhaps of the silans the party had referred to, had managed to sneak into the army’s night camp. Once there they detonated a series of fireball-like spells that killed nearly a hundred men and then made good their escape.

Over the next few days the beleaguered army made its way eastward, finally arriving on the outskirts of Blue on the 26th of Wealsun, 586 CY. Before the Obsidian Bay army linked up with its counterpart in Blue however, General Warrick called his officers together for a special meeting...

Experience & Loot

  • No experience and/or loot is avalable for this saga.