Post by Knightmare on Jan 27, 2006 23:22:50 GMT -5
"Murann was once the second largest city in Amn, trailing only behind Athkatla itself, renown for its trade, wealth and expansive harbor. A few months back, Murann was besieged by a rather nasty army of goblinoids that came out of the Small Teeth Mountains to the north. They are lead by a particularly intelligent Ogre Mage named Sythillis.
"For all his great intelligence, he creatively called both his army and his newfound 'kingdom' the Sythillisian Empire. His forces displayed a military cohesiveness and strategy rarely found among the goblinoid races. When he struck, after what must have been a decade or more of planning and training, his timing was perfect. Amn was in the middle of a small crisis; two of its towns had recently seceded from the country and applied for new membership to the kingdom of Tethyr.
"After normal negotiations failed between the government of Amn and the two towns, Amn dispatched a military presence to both Riatavin and Trailstone. This set the stage for the Sythillisian Empire's attack, as defenders of surrounding civilizations, including Murann's, marched towards the two areas.
"With the defenders of the major cities cut severely in number, preoccupied with forcing Riatavin and Trailstone to abide Amnian law, Sythillis commanded his army to strike. Sending a large contingent of hill giants and goblins towards Hillfort Ishla, the troops there were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number and power of the attackers. Not a single Amnian soldier survived the carnage. The goblinoids marched on to the north, quickly destroying both Gambiton and Esmeltaran.
"Upon hearing word of Esmeltaran's fall, half of the forces marshaled for attack on the two defecting cities were sent to stop the goblinoid invasion of Esmeltaran. Meanwhile, Sythillis split his remaining forces in half. The first half, lead by Sythillis' wife Cyrvisnia (also and Ogre Mage of great power), marched on the city of Imnescar, aided by a large group of Cyric worshipers. Imnescar too is quickly overwhelmed.
"The second half of Sythillis' army he took command of himself. They stormed the peaceful town of Trademeet, which suffered the same fate as the others before it. Following a 'scorched earth' policy, he striped Trademeet of all its useable equipment and burned the rest; most of the town lay in smoking ruins.
"Three days later, the armies lead by Cyrvisnia and Sythillis converge and attacked the true target of his current campaign - Murann. Thanks to scouts giving advanced warning, Murann had 24 hours to seal the gates, man the walls and prepare for the oncoming invasion. Surprisingly though, Sythillis didn't storm the gates as he had done all times before, he simply dug in, apparently content to siege the city. With Murann surrounded on land, only one means of escape seemed available - the sea.
"Having learned of the Empire's true target from a lone scout that escaped the savagery at Imnescar, the remaining forces marshaled at Riatavin and Hillforts Torbold and Keshla, lead by Major Olehm, marched towards Murann, intent on securing the safety of Murann's second most important city. The road for Amn's forces was itself besieged by strong storms very out of season as well as other odd mishaps. Travel for them was slow and arduous.
"The next day, part of Amn's army made it to the city of Esmeltaran, only to find the city both destroyed and devoid of any goblin inhabitants.
"As ships full of citizens fled Murann, they were captured or destroyed by the pirate forces of Black Molly, known as the 'Scourge of the Southern Seas ' for nearly six decades, commander of the ship 'Harridan' and its crew of aquatic ogres.. Within hours they put up a strong blockade surrounding Murann's harbor. Now totally surrounded, it was only a matter of time for the citizens of Murann.
"After what should have only been a few days march and instead took more than a ten-day, Major Olehm and his forces arrived at Murann, finding the city fully in control of the Sythillisian Empire. It seems that there was also a conspirator on the inside of Murann, which helped in the Empire's short but successful siege of the city.
"Major Olehm set his forces to dig in and begin their own siege of the city, hoping to both deplete the goblinoid's supplies and await any remaining Amnian forces that could join the battle. Two nights later, the gates of Murann opened and a flood of goblins, orcs, giants and other creatures poured out. Initially surprised, Amn's army stood their ground and fought fiercely, the tide of battle began to turn in Amn's favor.
"But just when things looked as if they were going well for Amn's military, the group of goblins and hill giants that had originally struck at Esmeltaran attacked at the rear of the Amnian army. Finding themselves with enemies on all sides, the Amnians began to fall quickly before the onslaught. By mornings first light, almost all 11,000 of Amn's soldiers lay dead, only a few handfuls escaped. With Amn's forces all but decimated, we don't have the strength to expel the Sythillisian Empire from Murann. For now, we must accept their presence and the loss of our city. Our goal currently has moved from retaking the city to containing the threat, as well as to gather any information or surveillance we can.
"Amn simply does not have the military forces to deal with the Sythillisian Empire, we admit that. The cost of hiring large mercenary units is much too prohibitive, they know how much Amn needs them and thus their price skyrockets. Due to the strife between Amn and Tethyr, we know that we can't count of their country for support as long as Sythillis remains within the borders of Amn. As such, Amn has put out an open contract to any and all adventurers that are willing to help free the city from Sythillis' grip."
"For all his great intelligence, he creatively called both his army and his newfound 'kingdom' the Sythillisian Empire. His forces displayed a military cohesiveness and strategy rarely found among the goblinoid races. When he struck, after what must have been a decade or more of planning and training, his timing was perfect. Amn was in the middle of a small crisis; two of its towns had recently seceded from the country and applied for new membership to the kingdom of Tethyr.
"After normal negotiations failed between the government of Amn and the two towns, Amn dispatched a military presence to both Riatavin and Trailstone. This set the stage for the Sythillisian Empire's attack, as defenders of surrounding civilizations, including Murann's, marched towards the two areas.
"With the defenders of the major cities cut severely in number, preoccupied with forcing Riatavin and Trailstone to abide Amnian law, Sythillis commanded his army to strike. Sending a large contingent of hill giants and goblins towards Hillfort Ishla, the troops there were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number and power of the attackers. Not a single Amnian soldier survived the carnage. The goblinoids marched on to the north, quickly destroying both Gambiton and Esmeltaran.
"Upon hearing word of Esmeltaran's fall, half of the forces marshaled for attack on the two defecting cities were sent to stop the goblinoid invasion of Esmeltaran. Meanwhile, Sythillis split his remaining forces in half. The first half, lead by Sythillis' wife Cyrvisnia (also and Ogre Mage of great power), marched on the city of Imnescar, aided by a large group of Cyric worshipers. Imnescar too is quickly overwhelmed.
"The second half of Sythillis' army he took command of himself. They stormed the peaceful town of Trademeet, which suffered the same fate as the others before it. Following a 'scorched earth' policy, he striped Trademeet of all its useable equipment and burned the rest; most of the town lay in smoking ruins.
"Three days later, the armies lead by Cyrvisnia and Sythillis converge and attacked the true target of his current campaign - Murann. Thanks to scouts giving advanced warning, Murann had 24 hours to seal the gates, man the walls and prepare for the oncoming invasion. Surprisingly though, Sythillis didn't storm the gates as he had done all times before, he simply dug in, apparently content to siege the city. With Murann surrounded on land, only one means of escape seemed available - the sea.
"Having learned of the Empire's true target from a lone scout that escaped the savagery at Imnescar, the remaining forces marshaled at Riatavin and Hillforts Torbold and Keshla, lead by Major Olehm, marched towards Murann, intent on securing the safety of Murann's second most important city. The road for Amn's forces was itself besieged by strong storms very out of season as well as other odd mishaps. Travel for them was slow and arduous.
"The next day, part of Amn's army made it to the city of Esmeltaran, only to find the city both destroyed and devoid of any goblin inhabitants.
"As ships full of citizens fled Murann, they were captured or destroyed by the pirate forces of Black Molly, known as the 'Scourge of the Southern Seas ' for nearly six decades, commander of the ship 'Harridan' and its crew of aquatic ogres.. Within hours they put up a strong blockade surrounding Murann's harbor. Now totally surrounded, it was only a matter of time for the citizens of Murann.
"After what should have only been a few days march and instead took more than a ten-day, Major Olehm and his forces arrived at Murann, finding the city fully in control of the Sythillisian Empire. It seems that there was also a conspirator on the inside of Murann, which helped in the Empire's short but successful siege of the city.
"Major Olehm set his forces to dig in and begin their own siege of the city, hoping to both deplete the goblinoid's supplies and await any remaining Amnian forces that could join the battle. Two nights later, the gates of Murann opened and a flood of goblins, orcs, giants and other creatures poured out. Initially surprised, Amn's army stood their ground and fought fiercely, the tide of battle began to turn in Amn's favor.
"But just when things looked as if they were going well for Amn's military, the group of goblins and hill giants that had originally struck at Esmeltaran attacked at the rear of the Amnian army. Finding themselves with enemies on all sides, the Amnians began to fall quickly before the onslaught. By mornings first light, almost all 11,000 of Amn's soldiers lay dead, only a few handfuls escaped. With Amn's forces all but decimated, we don't have the strength to expel the Sythillisian Empire from Murann. For now, we must accept their presence and the loss of our city. Our goal currently has moved from retaking the city to containing the threat, as well as to gather any information or surveillance we can.
"Amn simply does not have the military forces to deal with the Sythillisian Empire, we admit that. The cost of hiring large mercenary units is much too prohibitive, they know how much Amn needs them and thus their price skyrockets. Due to the strife between Amn and Tethyr, we know that we can't count of their country for support as long as Sythillis remains within the borders of Amn. As such, Amn has put out an open contract to any and all adventurers that are willing to help free the city from Sythillis' grip."
Major Gianderian Amphensbane
Commander, Amn Military Encampmant
Outside Murann
Commander, Amn Military Encampmant
Outside Murann