[This is a summation of events in the world that happened after the completion of the Flight of the Yard Bird and the beginning of Cultists, Cultists, Cultists. It covers slightly more than a year of time. I think I read it aloud to the players during the first session before we got into the actual adventure, but I’m missing the session notes for Session 1 of the Cultists, Cultists, Cultists adventure, lost to the Hard Drive Crash of 2014, so I am not entirely certain.]
[This is a huge wall of text, so I broke it up into two parts for the blog. Both parts are roughly the same length as the complete session notes for one session. Part 1 covers the Weather, and the happenings in the three regions of the Empire: Southern, Central, and Northern. Part 2 covers the Syrak Alliance, the Free City of Freegate, the Gnome Consortium, the Tribes of the Spur (orcs and goblins that settled in the mountains west of Freegate), and The Mountain Wars. Consider these two posts a huge “Happening Off-Stage” for the previous adventure.]
Part 1
Weather
The 18-19 IC winter was slightly colder than the previous one and lasted until April 19 IC. This was slightly later than normal, but not alarmingly so. Planting season was delayed by a few weeks, particularly in the north.
Another side effect of the longer winter was a higher level of snowfall. This caused rivers to run a little higher and colder during the spring melt. There was some minor flooding in the usual places, but nothing particularly unusual.
The summer 19 IC would be fairly normal in the southern plains and forests. On the northern plains it would be slightly wetter, cooler, and shorter. However, the farmers were mostly expecting it this year and planned accordingly. When winter of 19/20 IC arrived (slightly early yet again), the crops had been harvested and nothing was lost.
The 19-20 IC winter, as mentioned, arrived early, like the winter of 18/19 IC. Snow started falling in the mountains in early September and was falling on the Northern Plains by the end of the month. The snowline moved gradually south and by the end of October 19 IC all portions of the continent that normally experienced snow had it on the ground.
[This is related to the block of permanent ice that Tim touched to tile mosaic on the floor of the Temple of Baharat. It returned a critical bit of power to Ymer of the White Eyes, one of the Elderlan Gods (those who assisted Baharat in the creation of the world) and got himself locked away in the far past. The returned power allowed Ymer to start escaping his prison and exert his will on the world. Yes, the Crystal Brotherhood (see below) are related.]
Southern Empire
The 2nd Imperial Legion
During the end of 18 IC, the 2nd Imperial Legion gradually pushed back the Goblinoid Horde, South (GHS) [its official Imperial designation] out of and to the edge of the Farwood Forest. However, once out of the forest, the Legion's advantage over the Horde lessened and the battle lines stabilized. Both sides immediately started digging in.
Due to the 2nd Imperial Legion's focus on the GHS and the need for troops, the Imperial Navy was extremely short on Marines to defend ships and attack pirates in the seas along the south and east of the continent. Both the Pirates of the Far Drift Isles and goblinoid hulks sailing from Borot Grotto discovered and confirmed this in mid-19 IC and pirate attacks on shipping rose as a result.
The Gnome Air Fleet
The Gnome Consortium maintained a commitment to Fordsway's freedom from the GHS. The regular bombings and intensifying air war continued for most of 19 IC until the addition of the dwarven improved air carrier, the Radhwyr ("Iron Wind"), convinced the Khan of the GHS to negotiate with the Gnome Consortium while he still had air power. This led to the signing of the Treaty of Fordsway.
The Treaty only governs relations between the Horde and the air arms of the Gnome Consortium and the NDK. It allowed for the creation of the Free City of Fordsway and established the domains of the city [a triangle between the Greater and Lesser Tabor Rivers with the southernmost edge of the Worldspine Mountains across the top]. It also established an air-route Gnome and Dwarf airships may use unmolested between Fordsway and the remnants of County Silverloc [a wide valley set into the edge of the Worldspine Mountains over 75 miles north of Fordsway, bordered by the Greater Tabor River]. Protocols were also established for later contact between the belligerents. Finally, the GHS's actual name was recorded for the first time by someone outside the Great Swamp: "The Khanate of Grimthug Og Garguzgulz". [Imperial scholars, at the Emperor’s direction, instead use “the Khanate of the Horde” so as to not aggrandize the Khan personally.]
The Khanate continued to improve its' airpower to maintain parity with the Gnomes and the Dwarfs. They developed wing blades for the giant bats and experimented with various types of wands as armaments. It is rumored that back in the Great Swamp, goblin and orc shamans are attempting to breed giant bats that have a magical gland that provides the same effect as a potion of speed.
Central Empire
The Imperial Capital
Evacuation of the Imperial Capital
The Lizardman Horde (LH) spent the spring of 19 IC crushing the remaining 1st Imperial Legion forces on the south side of the Saggil River. Reliable Imperial reports put the dragon strength of the LH at eight dragons – unreliable reports put it closer to twenty. This increased number of dragons allowed the LH to completely stall the 5th Imperial Legion on its western flank. The LH then massed troops south of the Saggil River and east of the Winnowglen River.
The anticipated attack happened in mid-June 19 IC. Two armies of lizardmen crossed the Saggil and a third crossed the Winnowglen. After two weeks of intensive fighting, the LH established secure beachheads and started marching on the Imperial Capital along three fronts. The new defensive works built by the Legion during the winter slowed the Horde's advance, but failed to stop it.
When the new defensive works started to fall to the LH attack, the Gnome Compound in the Imperial Capital sent word to the Gnomes of Freegate requesting evacuation. The Yardbird was quickly reconfigured for refugee transportation. While it was being reconfigured, the Northern Dwarven Kingdom (NDK) informed the Gnome Consortium that the Hwyrrak was en route to the Imperial Capital to evacuate NDK personnel. The dwarves requested a combined air operation to speed up the evacuation and to increase the security of the operation. The Gnomes agreed immediately.
Two weeks later, the first combined air operation commenced. The air fleet, comprised of the Yardbird, the Hwyrrak, 18 belf'rads, and the Driver of Foes [one of the Mjolnir-class Gnome airships], headed northeast from Freegate. They established a temporary base on the border of the Horse Lords lands and southeast Thuringia to reduce turnaround time from the Imperial Capital. Then they swung into the war zone, maneuvering to approach the Imperial Capital from the north.
The Imperial Capital learned of the arrival of the air fleet early one morning when two drop pods (Runaround Mark 5's) dropped from the sky – one on the Gnome Compound, the other on the NDK Enclave. Both contained troops to supplement security at each location during the evacuation. The Yardbird then took position over the city to receive refugees from both locations. The Hwyrrak hovered higher to provide belf'rad air support for the operation while the Driver of Foes positioned itself to intercept air attacks coming from the front.
Initially, the populace of the city was cheered by the appearance of the air fleet, thinking that the Gnomes and the Dwarfs were aiding in the defense of the city. Then they realized that the Northern Dwarves and the Gnomes had barricaded the gates of their respective enclaves and were evacuating from the city. First outrage, then worry, then fear washed through the city as the populace realized what the evacuation really meant – the Imperial Capital was going to fall. People, commoners as well as nobles, headed towards the Compound and the Enclave to negotiate space in the evacuation. When told only Gnome and Dwarven diplomatic personnel and their families were being evacuated, panic started to spread across the city.
Halfway through the initial evacuation, a dragon was spotted approaching the city. Driver of Foes turned and moved to intercept the dragon while the Hwyrrak started launching belf'rads armed with repeating arbalests.
The dragon, having never seen anything like the airships, had flown ahead of the Horde front lines to investigate. The Captain of Driver of Foes allowed the dragon to close well within the range of the six repeating ballistae mounted on Driver before turning hard to port and ordering a broadside attack. The dragon was caught by surprise and was hit several times. Angered, it attacked and the fight was on.
The fight lasted for the better part of a quarter hour, with Driver of Foes maneuvering to bring as many ballistae as possible to bear on the dragon, the dragon trying to find a way to get in close for a good attack with its breath weapon, and the belf'rads chasing after the dragon like angry bees. The fight came to a conclusion when the Driver of Foes bombardier attempted to drop a TDD bomb on the dragon. The dragon easily avoided it and then slapped at it with its tail, thinking to knock the "rock" into one of the belf'rads.
The resulting explosion flipped the dragon and several nearby belf'rads through the air. The explosion also battered the Driver of Foes, knocking two of its repeating ballistae out of commission and breaking most of the windows in a one-mile radius. The dragon was able to catch itself in the air and avoided hitting the ground. A few belf'rads were not as lucky and two crashed into the city below. The dragon was seriously injured and had its confidence shaken to the core. Deciding it had had enough, the dragon flew back to the Horde, dripping blood and looking for answers from the shamans.
On the ground, no one was certain exactly what had happened. Witnesses of the explosion could only report that the dragon had performed some odd move and then its tail appeared to explode. The witnesses further testified that the dragon appeared to be heavily wounded by the explosion, leading them to believe that it was some sort of magic the Gnomes or dwarfs had used on it.
After the battle, Driver of Foes moved back to its station and performed emergency repairs to bring the damaged repeating ballistae back online. Drop pods were deployed to retrieve the downed belf'rads and their pilots. Once this was complete, the evacuation of the Compound and the Enclave continued. The populace of the Imperial Capital took this all as a sign and started to flee the city, heading north to the Wold Forest and away from the LH.
Emperor Orion was rumored to be not entirely displeased with the people fleeing the city – it kept him from having to order the evacuation himself. He sent orders to the 5th Imperial Legion, ordering the Legion to cross the Saggil River in the west and defend the remainder of the Grand Duchy of Crendia. He appeared to have written off everything south of the Saggil River as the Syrak Alliance's problem [see Part 2] and cut his losses.
It took the Gnomes two trips to evacuate all of their and the NDK's people. Less than two weeks after the Gnome Air Lift, the Lizardman Horde broke through the Imperial lines and sacked the Imperial Capital for the first time in its 8000-year history. The lizardmen and the dragons spent over a month ransacking the city and the Imperial Palace before reforming their armies to pursue the survivors. This delay turned out to be a mistake on their part.
Pushing Back the Lizardmen
Using the time afforded by the ransacking of the Imperial Capital, Orion reinforced the remains of the 1st Imperial Legion with troops raised from the Wold Forest and ordered the creation of the 9th Imperial Legion at Ihyr (see below). Using magic, he contacted the Legion Commanders of the 3rd and 5th Imperial Legions and outlined his attack plans against the Horde. The goal was to push the Horde back south of the Saggil River and keep them there, causing as much harm to them as possible.
When the LH finally resumed its march north, it faced two problems. The first was the renewed vigor of the Imperial Legions. Furious at the sacking of the Imperial Capital and shamed by their failure to prevent it, the Legionnaires were now highly motivated to attack. The second problem the Horde leaders faced was a lack of direction growing in their troops. Their holy cause was to sack and destroy the city that defied their living gods in ages past. Having done that, the troops were starting to feel adrift and their motivation was ebbing. These two changes in attitude and motivation were costly for the Horde. The Horde was finally fought to a stand-still and stopped before they could enter the Wold Forest.
The lines would have stabilized there, but an early snowstorm at the end of August spooked the dragons, who returned south. Without the morale and physical support of their living gods, the Horde was slowly pushed back by the vengeance-filled Legions. When the dragons returned two weeks later, the Horde was in full retreat. The dragons were able to slow the retreat but not stop it. The Horde held at the remains of the line of forts the Legions had built north of the Saggil River the previous winter. The dragons and the shamans rallied the troops and prepared to resume the offensive, until a small cadre of priests appeared on the Legion's front line.
These priests wore white robes and claimed to be from a new sect known as the Crystal Brotherhood. Their leader had been given visions and now knew how to drive the Horde back across the river. The priests stood in a line in front of the Legion's battlelines and started chanting in unison. Holding their arms out, great gusts of frigid air poured out of their robes towards the Horde. The frigid air rapidly dropped the temperature over the Horde positions until it was freezing. Then waves of snow flowed from the robes of the priests and suddenly the Horde was engulfed in a blizzard!
This was too much for the lizardmen who turned and ran. They fled south until they crossed the Saggil River and the snows stopped. When the priests stopped chanting, the lands for 20 miles south of their position were covered in snow. Orion is said to have asked them to repeat this miracle again south of the river. The leader of the Crystal Brotherhood responded that this was a single miracle granted to them and could not be repeated until it was granted again, but he was willing to discuss the matter further at the emperor’s leisure.
The Legions spent the winter of 19/20 IC re-establishing their defensive works and improving upon them. During this time, the emperor occasionally reviewed the progress of the fortifications. The leader of the Crystal Brotherhood was always seen in the emperor’s entourage and some of the legionnaires converted to the new faith.
Northern Empire
The Northern Dukes
The loyalty of the Northern Dukes to the Malachite Throne of the Empire remained steadfast. This loyalty was due to two things: continuing extensive trade and no hordes. As long as the trade routes stay open and the Hordes are kept south of the Wold Forest, the dukes see no profit in deserting the Empire only to be reconquered later. Additionally, they expect to be rewarded for their loyalty once the hordes are stopped and the rebellions are put down. Emperor Orion has done nothing to abuse them of this belief.
Orion ordered that Ducal Militia units start assembling near the cities of Ihyr and Krakow. He used these troops to create the 9th and 10th Imperial Legions (in Ihyr and Tusmit, respectively) and started training the troops to operate as Legionnaires. He also sent runners into the Wold Forest to recruit troops from the Fiefdoms. The troops from the Fiefdoms had veterans assigned to lead them and the new units were incorporated into the remains of the 1st Imperial Legion.
The veterans are legionnaires seriously wounded in the fighting against the LH and were looking at early retirement due to the cost of reattaching their limbs or providing magical replacements. They were offered the option of becoming civilians or leading Fiefdom troops in a diminished capacity. Given the option to lead troops back against the LH and get some personal revenge, every legionnaire offered the opportunity immediately accepted.
The veterans were magically healed to a point where they could return to combat, but not necessarily fight at full strength. They were promoted and given bonus pay increasing their morale even further and they set to training the new troops with a fervor. Once they assembled two companies, they marched south to join the rest of the 1st Legion. As detailed above, the 1st Legion went on with the 3rd and 5th Legions to push the LH back across the Saggil River.
The Grand Duchy of Thuringia
The Cattle Barons of Thuringia have kept a close eye on the fighting to their east. They drove herds of cattle and horses to the 5th Legion during the summer of 19 IC and sold them to the Legion for half cash and half credit on Thuringia's Imperial Taxes. This helped the 5th Legion's supply logistics greatly and bolstered the Legion's morale, particularly with Sachsen and Sachsen-Anhault rebelling to the south. It also inclined the 5th Legion to head towards Thuringia if a retreat was called for and this helped the morale of the barons.
The Domain of Ihyr
The Imperial University spent the year scouring their archives for references to dragon slaying and dragon-slaying weapons. Undergraduate mages were organized into three-person teams lead by a fourth, experienced mage and deployed south. An emphasis was placed on strong, ranged attack spells for use against dragons and strong, area effect attack spells for use against the lizardmen. The initial units sent contributed greatly to the 3rd Legion's ability to stop the lizardmen from entering the eastern Wold Forest. It was also discovered that dragons have some level of immunity to magical attacks, which is worrisome.
Once the full strength of the University's mages joined the 3rd Legion, they were able to push the Horde back to the Saggil River. There the mages used spells to rapidly create defensive works to maintain control of the lands north of the Saggil, from the Gulf of Herault, all the way to the Winnowglen River.
The City-State of Galān
The people of Galān seem to have started a revolt against the Military Governor. The exact situation inside the city is unclear as both sides have reasons for keeping the true situation hidden. In late July 19 IC, the Military Governor declared the city quarantined due to plague. All non-official communication from within the city stopped as all communication is now funneled through the office of the Military Governor. Ships in the port when the quarantine was announced were trapped there when the Harbor Chain was drawn tight across the harbor entrance.
There is speculation about fighting going on inside the city walls, but no one is certain what is happening. In fact, the only thing those outside the city are certain of is that something is happening inside the city.
End of Part 1.
Between Adventures
Previous session: Flight of the Yardbird – Session 16
Next Session: Between Adventures – Part 2 [not posted yet]
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