Monday, June 8, 2009

The Campaign for Hottsk - Year Two

(If you haven’t read the report of the first year of this campaign You might want to start there… It can be found HERE).


YEAR TWO

Spring

In the spring of the second year of the Great War for Hottsk Hannurbull, King of Mørke, sat with his army sat in Gnurl waiting to defend against any invaders… Once again The Halfbads invaded from the east. The Army of Mørke once again met them in battle at Argha! Once again the Halfbads beat down the Army of Mørke in battle and claimed Argha to be their own!


The Army of Mørke prepares to meet the Army of Halfbad once again!


The army of Halfbad surges forward through the wilderness.


Orcs and orcs, mixing it up. Why can’t they just get along…!?


This one seemed to degenerate into a wild skirmish in the woods! A mounted contingent of a Hero and two Riders broke through the melee and tried to take the stronghold, but I think in the end it was sheer losses that obliged the Army of Mørke to once again abandon Argha to the Halfbads.

To be sure there was much rape, pillage and murder in Argha that night to avaenge the halfbad Garrison put to the sword in the previous year! But once again after the battle King Skimpi the Sneak was informed that the Dwarves had come down out of the mountains and attacked Glurg – unfortunately this time they had TAKEN it!!

Far off to the Southeast, the Banner of King Humperdinck of Florin was raised at Buttercupford. The army assembled and prepared to march on Seroza. They marched out of The City of Buttercupford and over the first hill only to discover the Army of SEroza on their doorsteps arrayed for battle!? In a pamic, the rash King Humperdinck charged down to meet the elves on the field of battle. After the first charge of the Florin knights into the Elvish lines a messenger caught up to King Humperdinck with grave news. A mounted column of elves had snuck around the flank, scattered the pickets before the city and taken Buttercupford! Another nearly bloodless victory for the Elves!?


King Humperdinck (Chris) arrays the army of Florin before the gates of Buttercupford!


The wiley General Venerable Bede (Rick) prepares to put his cunning and subtle plan into effect!


The Knights of Florin ride out to meet the Elvish line – while the elvish hammer (in the form of their flanking mouted column) is about to fall. Humperdinck’s subordinates try to break up the battle line and send the foot back to defend the city..


…but it is far too late for that!


The Knights of Florin fall upon the Elves in a desperate bid to drive them of and crash through their line!


Alas, the city has already fallen!

Over to the West, two armies were marching north! The Army of Aarkland besieged their old city of Drelt to recapture it from the Goblins. The siege dragged on all through the spring. The Army of Anganld marched into the lands of their new overlards, through their old city of Scael to the Aarkland city of Svaug.

While these battles were taking place Bob and Cory had a little one-off game, just for fun!


The Anglish and The dwarves conduct “Field Excercises”


Summer

After retiring to Gnurl, the Army of Morke marched south to try and lift the siege of Drelt. Much weakened they met the full might of the Aarkland army – if that wasn’t enough a contingent of Anglander’s were there supporting their overlord.


The valiant (or foolhardy!?) Orcs of Mørke attempt to relieve the siege of Drelt!


The battle lines clash.


While the Orcs were initially doing well on the flanks and Hannurbull and the Trolls gave the main line a pounding, the hard hitting steady Aarkanders eventually overwhelmed, surrounded and annihilated the Orcs… Hannurbull only just escaping back to Waruk with his life! (I think all the orcs had left after this battle was the Hero and maybe a stand of warband…? If that…?)

The army of Halfbad marched back to Glurg to find the Dwarvish Army departed and a small garrison of Dwarven engineers hurriedly improving the fortifications. Skimpi the Sneak besieged his own fortress determined to eject these short hairy mountain men from his lands! Scous arrived with news that the Dwarves had marched on the capitol of Drek and were currently Besieging it!? Neither Drek nor Glurg fell to their besiegers.

The army of Florin retired to West Leigh and was pursued by the Elves who laid siege to them there in their fortress. That siege too would drag on through the hot summer months.

King Arthelbert (the Almost ready) led the Army of the Anglanders up into the dwarvish mountains!? They passed though Lyngstad and made their way to Agnetha unopposed!

Autumn


The locations of the various armies after their fall moves.

Hannurbul of Mørke decided field battles weren’t really his thing…. Sieges and sacking seemed to work out much better… So he led the small warband he still commanded back to Argha to try and once again reduce the small garrison left behind by the Halfbads. It seemed a sensible move, surely the Halfbads would be attempting to relieve their capitol. But no sooner did Hannerbull arrive so to did the Skimpi the Sneak and his army of Halfbad on it’s way to Waruk!? Once again they battled over the beleaguered city of Argha


The action was short and violent – while the Wildmen of Mørke Warband mixed it up with some lurkers and beasts in the woods Hannurbull and his personal guard stormed toward the gates of Argha!


They were however overwhelmed and annihilated. Hannurbul escaped, severely wounded and made his way back to Waruk only to find out that the Aarklanders had also invaded and taken Gnurl after a short siege!


In danger of having it’s supply line cut off the Dwarvish army of Anni-frid had given up it’s siege of Drek and retired to Glurg, to find the orcs had given up their siege and wandered off to fight with a weakened lot of their own kind… Orcs…

Strange and treacherous behavior was taking place in the southwest. The Elves gave up their siege of West Leigh… but instead of retiring they marched WITH The Army of Florin into Angland. There they laid siege to and took the city of Morgond!

If that wasn’t strange enough the Anglanders continued their march through Ulvaeus, and down through the passes towards Buttercupford! Unfortunately, as any dwarf can tell you, those passes can be treacherous in the fall and the army was caught in a massive avalanche and all but obliterated (10 of the 12AP in the army was wiped out!?). All that survived was Aethelbert himself and his personal Huscarls! But they forged on through the snowy passes and down through the foothills to the City of Buttercupford. They were of such a surly disposition all they had to do was march to the gates and demand they be opened and the city fell to them!! There they wintered and prepared for renewed campaigns in the spring!

Winter

Once again all armies successfully retired to winter quarters and spent the long, cold months rebuilding and preparing to continue their campaigns in the spring… The Anglanders (as mentioned) overwintered in their new city of Buttercupford.

At this point Halfbad (other Tim) had acquired 27 Prestige points, Seroza (Rick) now had 14, Angland (Cory) still had 12, as did Aarkland (Terry).

Stay tuned for the conclusion of the campaign: YEAR THREE!!!

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