From A History of the Lords of Westmarch - Volume XIV

Part 1

By Lady Myrs Kratys

The year 606AT was dying slowly, with workers in the fields around Kratys Keep halfway through the Tenthmonth. Many of the young men had left for Beltigost’s crusade against the mad king Aldurnus II, leaving but a handful of able-bodied men tasked with both protecting Malgen’s Gap and collecting the harvest. As such, the keep’s vulnerability was high and it was ill-prepared for an orcish attack. But fortune was with the people of Kratys Keep during that fateful autumn, as four brave heroes from the capital of Vodymsira had accepted an invitation from Lord Kratys to celebrate their liberation of the lord’s son earlier in the year. Were it not for their presence, the history of the Westmarch would have been very different indeed.

Sir Edgar Salisbury and elderly knight errant, Talos Redwand a nobleman and conjurer of modest skill, Kieren the wild druid, and Eswin the Tuathan elf arrived at the keep on the 10^th of Tenthmonth, dust-covered and weary from a four day travel. After they had cleaned and refreshed themselves, they were treated to a feast in their honour for deeds done in Brysgod some months before. Tales of high adventure were shared, thanks were given, and the celebration lasted well into the early hours of the morning.

When the sun crested the horizon to the east, the peasants and the lord were already hard at work in the fields. All day they toiled until at last the sun began to sink behind the Greycloaks and they began heading toward their homes. It was then that a watchman on the keep’s tower noticed a dust cloud moving in swiftly from the north. The pealing of the watchman's bell brought the peasants in with all swiftness and the gates were barred. Lord Tarran Kratys however, was not among their number.

Several tense moments passed; at last, Lord Tarran Kratys appeared from the cover of the orchard that surrounded the keep. He was bleeding heavily and had been pierced in three places by black-shafted arrows. Hot in pursuit of the lord were five bandy-legged, crooked backed orcs with murder in their big red eyes. Kratys hobbled his way to the gate and was hoisted over the wall through the efforts of Talos and his manservant Thurin, while Eswin and Keiren directed a unit of archers to fire upon the orcs. When all was said and done, Tarran Kratys was safe behind the walls of the keep and three of the orcs lay dead upon the ground, with the remaining two fleeing into the orchard for cover.

After the Lady Myrs bound the lord’s wounds, Kratys confirmed their fears. The Broken Moon orc tribe had taken advantage of the Westmarch’s vulnerability and marched on Kratys Keep to settle an old score. Watchfires were lit and stones of magical light were placed around the keep, as the freeholders made preparations for a siege. An hour after sunset, a lone orc carrying a flag of truce approached the gates. Claiming to be the herald of Hallir, leader of the Broken Moon warband, he stated the orc cheiftan’s terms. If Kratys surrendered, the orcs would slay the men quickly and the women and children would be taken as slaves. Knowing better than to trust an orc, Kratys refused. The fate of those within the keep would be sealed in battle, not surrender.

Hallir the Blood of Malgen, Half-Orc Chieftain
of the Broken Moon Tribe

As the keep continued its preparations for the siege, Eswin and Kieren left on a reconnaissance mission to gather information on the strength of the Broken Moon tribe. Eswin easily blended into the shadows of the forest with his elven cloak, and Kieren used his ensorcelled cloak to turn himself into a bat so that he might fly undetected above the orcish horde. While in the orchard, Eswin learned that there were near a hundred orcs in the warband, led by a brutish half-orc chieftan named Hallir. A gnarled old shaman by the name of Goomjaba and a heavily armoured ogre were also counted among their number. To Eswin’s dismay, he also learned that the warband was busy building a catapult and scaling ladders for the siege. Using a magical formula he had procured in his earlier travels, Eswin managed to booby trap the catapult. He also made an assassination attempt on Hallir which proved unsuccessful, so he melted back into the shadow of the trees. With Kieren’s aid, Eswin made his way around the orchard and managed to slay several straggling orcs along with five drummers whose pounding was weakening the morale of those within the keep.

When they returned to the keep, they informed the lord that the orcs were not yet prepared for their assault. In a last desperate attempt to find aid, the druid Kieren spoke to one of the lord’s hawks and instructed the bird to fly with all haste east to the Dimwald Forest, where it would find Kieren’s mentor Goran Shae. As the sun once again made its appearance in the east, the two hawks returned to the keep. One began to shed its feathers and grow, and within less than a minute Goran Shae, master of the Dimwald stood before those assembled in the keep. A glimmer of hope was kindled in the hearts of all those present.

Continued...