The War in the Woods

Chapter 1: On the borders of Loren

Contrary to popular belief, not all the dwarfs were slain in the Battle of Pine Crags in the Imperial Year 1350. There was one survivor that escaped the clutches of the Wood Elves. A dwarf Longbeard, by the name of Drogbar Rockbeard, of Grungni's Old Guard managed to fight his way out of the ambush although in the process he was also grievously wounded and it was through sheer will that he managed to overcome his wounds to reach home.

It was when the sun came up one morning did the guards of the great gateway notice Drogbar lying on the steps leading to the dwarf hold. Although he was covered in wounds and dehydrated, Drogbar was still alive and he requested an audience with the King. It was only after retelling his story to his King and seeing the dwarf smiths place a new entry in the Hold's Book of Grudges (with the King's approval of course), did Drogbar retire to his cavern hole to allow the surgeons to look at his wounds.

Drogbar knew his end would come soon; thus he hastily picked up his quills and vellum papers to note down his final thoughts to be passed on to his descendents. Within his notes, he drew an intricate map of where the ambush took place and he described the final moments of the ambush; of how the Old Guard had tried to escort Grungni Goldfinger out of the woods; of how the army was separated and each unit picked off by the elusive elves; of how the Old Guard fought of waves of Treekin and Dryads; of how Grungni Goldfinger died when an accurate elven arrow pierced through his eye ball; of how the Old Guard hastily built a cairn for Grungni when there was a respite in the fighting. Drogbar wrote furiously, and only when he finished writing and sprinkled sand on the vellum to dry the ink did he rest and breathed his last.

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It would be many decades later when young Stromni Rockbeard stumbled on his great ancestor's notes. Filled with curiousity and eagerness to prove his worth to the dwarf clans and family, Stromni requested for leadership of a dwarf throng to venture into the depths of the forests of Loren. With the map that Drogbar left behind, Stromni had a clear idea where the ambush took place, and if he could find the remains of Grungni and at the same time exact some measure of revenge on the Wood Elves, Stromni would have a good grip on the Kingship of the newly formed Karak.

The Rockbeards had just three generations ago setup their new Karak Duraz (meaning 'enduring stone'). Under the commanding leadership of their present King, Gregan Rockbeard (Stromni's father), Karak Duraz had expanded in size and power. Gregan realized the importance of this expedition; if Karak Duraz could right such a grievous wrong, it would only swell the Karak's power to rival the ancient clans. The treachery and the viciousness of the Elves were known throughout, and in order for this expedition to succeed, Gregan knew he had to hand leadership of his army to his most able general, Stromni who was Gregan's most capable son and general. Having fought in several battles, Stromni had proven that he had the courage and the guile to be a great heroic leader. Thus it was with some reluctance that Gregan agreed to Stromni's request and put his beloved son's life at risk.

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The Battle at Findol's Plain (Pitched Battle: Dwarfs vs Wood Elves 2500pts)
Amidst much celebration, the dwarfen army readied for war. A full quarter of Karak Duraz's fighting strength was placed under the command of Stromni Rockbeard, heir to the Kingship, and approached Loren through the mountains to the east of Loren.

The Elves, in the mean time, were not idle too. The Spellweaver, Illiana had already read the signs of impending woe and suffering in her portents. Waywatchers had already spotted the vanguard of the army way outside Loren and were already reporting the progress of the advancing dwarf army to Illiana. The woods were roused and ready to fight. The Elves readied their weapons, and moved their elven civillians deeper into the woods away from the path of the dwarfen juggernaut. Although invasion was not a nice prospect, the elves were never afraid of a fight, eager in fact, as the dark rage of the woods filled their souls with the cold savagery of a hunting beast. They would create another Pine Crags...

At the edges of the woods, Stromni set up camp, uneager to rampantly march into the depths of the woods, wise to the flaws of the previous doomed expedition. With the map in hand, Stromni decided on attacking the Crag Hall of Findol, it was near here that the Old Guard had made their final stand and where they buried Grungni Goldfinger. If he could sweep past the defenders he would be able to reach the final resting site. Stromni decided to enter the woods in battle formation with his troops ready for a fight. Progress would be slow due to the unlimbered war machines, but Stromni decided that he would rather have less speed than to have his army caught out in another ambush. He also sent his engineers aboard their new fangled gyrocopters on reconnaissance missions above the woods to warn him if the Elves approached.

To see the dwarfs enter the wood in battle formation was a shock for the Elves, they were still trying to encircle the dwarfs when they realized that they were already spotted. The dwarfen artillery was already in position and were already firing on the elves. How did they find out we were coming? Illiana was perplexed by how the battle had started before their trap was in place. Gaining no insight from her portents, Illiana placed her faith in Isha and ordered her elves and woodland spirits to press home the attack.

High above the woods of Loren, the engineers were having difficulty spotting the Elves, it was impossible to spot the elves as they weaved under the canopy of the forest. Until Dagra "Kamikaze" Irongear made a fantastic discovery, he realized that the foliage of the trees were shaking and bobbing and moving; a clearing appeared where there was no clearing before or a clearing disappeared when he was sure there was a clearing before. With much haste, he landed his copter and warned of the impending approach of the elves...

The elven attack was doomed to fail. With superior black powder weapons, the dwarfs were shooting down the elves with ease. With the twin Runesmiths, Ariak and Arok, they were resisting the powers of the Spellweaver. The charge of the wild riders were repelled by the devastating firepower of dwarf cannon and organ gun. With the dwarf rangers using their woodland skills to maximum effect, holding down the flank of the elves...

---Dwarf Victory (with the wood elves conceding the battle ground [by turn 3])

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Chapter 2: The Sweeping of the Crag Hall of Findol
Despite the scattering of the first elf attack, Stromni decided not to pursue the elves, for fear of a trick. Instead he regrouped his troops and camped for the night. With the Elven defenders on the run, he decided to swing past the Crag Hall of Findol towards the resting site of Grungni. Although he had seen off an army of Wood Elves, he also knew that the Elves were tenacious fighters and would not rest easily with the dwarfs camped on their lands.

It took the dwarfs a week to traverse the woodland terrain and finally they were in sight of their goal. They could see a rough stone cairn with dwarfen runes hastily chiselled on it, exactly where the map had stated. Stromni was elated for he wasn't even sure the cairn still existed through the years.

Although the Elves were defeated, Illiana had little difficulty rallying the elven survivors; they were natural fighters, brought up in a harsh environment and were defending their homes. Gathered at the Crag Hall of Findol, they were brought news by the Waywatchers about the new location of the dwarfen camp and Illiana surmised that they were approaching the dwarfen cairn. Findol had initially wanted to remove the cairn, but he hesitated. Why he hesitated no one knows, but it wasn't long that the Great Forest heals its wounds and forgives the trespass; plants and moss started to grow around the cairn, thus with much respect to the plant life, the elves left it alone.

Illiana's portents pointed to bloodshed at the cairns; and the elves marched to war again.

Next battle! Wood Elves vs Dwarfs, 2,500 pts. Mission: Capture!